


On The Wing

by Rhi_rhi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fix-It, Stewjon, Tattoos, Wingfic, seriously there is emphasis on Stewjon, tattooed!Obi-wan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 04:32:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 31
Words: 40,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4550574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhi_rhi/pseuds/Rhi_rhi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I have found a surprising lack of wingfics in this fandom, and since wingfics are what I live for, I have taken it upon myself to create this. </p><p>Or:</p><p>The Sith are still at large, there is still a war to be fought, there are still people who need to be freed, but all that Obi-wan can handle. What he can't handle is how dangerously close his secret is to revealing itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Breakdown

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [who cares about your lonely heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4177608) by [Elenothar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elenothar/pseuds/Elenothar). 



> This fic was also inspired by "What's An Angel?" by norcumi and dogmatix.

The wings have always been a part of Obi-wan, ever since he was born.In the creche, he was hardly the strangest one there, and his wings were small enough to hide under a tunic if he wanted. But they were all children, and his wings were more of a novelty than anything else. As he got older, it got harder to hide his wings, but he was okay with that. His age mates were used to them, and so were the masters and knights he saw on a regular basis. Sometimes he would walk past younger initiates, and they would openly stare at him, but Obi-wan figured he would have the same reaction if he saw someone with a set of limbs he didn't have. 

It wasn't until he became a teenager that his wings became a hinderance. When he finally became a padawan, Qui-gon Jinn took his wings in stride, but Obi-wan never had any doubts about that. It was the lightsaber practice that gave him trouble. Because of his wings, Obi-wan's center had always been different than other people his age and height. But most forms of lightsaber dueling hand been made with the average four-limbed human or vaguely humanoid being in mind, not someone with extra appendages that would throw off his balance. So when the masters in charge of their class would teach them a new technique, Obi-wan would find himself loosing his balance and actively trying to keep his wings as close to himself as possible. He began to feel humiliated because of his wings. He started slipping in the rest of his classes too, and eventually it gained the attention of his master. Unfortunately, they were both stumbling along blindly, as Qui-gon had never had a padawan with wings, nor was he in the best mental state due to the Fall of Xanatos, and Obi-wan was too proud to tell him the real reason he was struggling. 

Then came Obi-wan's infamous breakdown. 

He was fourteen, and suffering through depression, though he hid it well. He was home alone; Qui-gon was out, though Obi-wan wasn't sure where. He had suffered through another day of not being able to pay attention in his classes and not being able to keep up with the rest of his age mates in the sparring ring. Obi-wan stormed into his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. 

 _Why am I so useless at everything?_ He thought bitterly.  _I can't do anything right because of these stupid wings._ _I can't even **focus** now. I'm supposed to be a Jedi padawan, but I can't even do the simple stuff._ He snorted. _Like not wallow in self-pity._ _Everything would probably be a whole lot easier if I didn't have wings._ A dark, vicious idea formed in his mind.  _If I didn't have wings..._ Silently, Obi-wan got up and walked into the kitchen. He picked out the sharpest knife in the drawer, a long serrated one he'd seen his master use a couple times. He took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom and pulled down a bottle of pain medication from the cabinet. It was only meant for soreness and stiff muscles, but it was better than nothing. According to the label, at his age he was only supposed to take one pill, but Obi-wan wasn't sure how much his plan would hurt.

So he took seven.

"Better safe than sorry." He muttered to himself. He glared at his wings in the mirror. They rose almost to his own height, and at the very ends they brushed just passed his hips. They weren't big enough to lift him off the ground yet, and he doubted they ever would be.  _Useless. All they do is slow me down. They're wings and I can't even fly. What's the point of having them if they don't **do** anything?_ He nodded to himself, grabbed the knife and twisted his arm behind his back. He would have picked his lightsaber for this job, but he knew that he probably would've ended up burning his back and causing much more damage than intended. 

After a couple minutes of trying to get his arm bent at the right angle and generally scratching up his back, and trying to fight off the sudden nausea caused by the pain medication, Obi-wan finally sliced his left wing. 

And then he nearly doubled over in pain. 

It was so intense black spots danced in front of his vision and he nearly forgot how to breathe. It almost felt like his entire back was on fire, only worse. He hadn't been paying attention to his mental shielding, so if he didn't know before, his master defiantly knew something was wrong after that. _Hurry up before he comes back._  Obi-wan took a shaky breath and tried again, but just the effort to try and twist his arm backwards was too much, and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When he woke up, Obi-wan was in the medcenter. He could sense his master next to him, without even opening his eyes, and he could sense his friend Bant hovering just outside in the hallway. He desperately wanted to fall back unconscious, just so he wouldn't have to deal with all the questions and explanations that would have to happen when he woke up. But it was too late; Qui-gon had already picked up on his consciousness. 

"Padawan?" He asked softly. Obi-wan groaned. "How are you feeling?" 

"Bad. Tired." Obi-wan managed to get out, only half because it was true. The other half was because he wanted to see if Qui-gon would leave him alone for now. No such luck. 

"What were you thinking? What were you trying to do?"

Obi-wan stubbornly stayed silent. 

"Obi-wan." Qui-gon murmured in a gentle voice that both soothed Obi-wan and grated on his nerves. "The healers said that there are cuts on the bottom of your wings, like.. You were trying to cut them off. Were you?" 

"Yes." Obi-wan snapped, opening his eyes and looking at his master. "I was, because they are just useless  _things_ that are there and all they do is slow me down and if I keep them I won't ever be able to do any of the lightsaber techniques and then I'll never be a Jedi!" He slouched down deeper into the bed. Qui-gon just raised his eyebrows. 

"Why didn't you come talk to me about this?" Obi-wan turn his head and didn't answer. "This is something that can be fixed, Obi-wan. So the traditional 'saber forms don't work for you. We'll just have to modify them so that they do." Obi-wan snorted. 

"You can't just  _change_ the lightsaber forms." 

"Yes you can. We have different forms to allow Jedi to utilize their individual fighting style, while still fighting with a lightsaber. If you physically cannot do some of the more basic forms, then they can be changed." Obi-wan still looked at his master in disbelief. The lightsaber techniques were something that had been around for over a thousand years, they couldn't just be  _changed_ for one person. 

Could they?

 

 


	2. The Senda IV Mission pt. 1

Obi-wan was seventeen now, and him and his master were off on a mission on some planet whose name (Senda IV) Obi-wan would've forgotten had it been under normal circumstances. But as it was, the local inhabitants seemed to think he was some sort of deity, and that the kind of deity varied on location. In the more southern region of the planet, he was a demon of the dead; in the north, he was a manifestation of lust and fortune. Unfortunately, Obi-wan had been sent alone to find the traitor to the planets government, Shan Halcard, while Qui-gon stayed in the capitol to be a diplomat and fix the damage Halcard had done. Qui-gon had told him exactly what to do, but the Qui-gon Jinn definition of 'exactly' fit more with Obi-wan's definition of 'vague'. 

He was currently sitting on the roof of some building catching his breath after an unsuccessful chase after Halcard, but he had somehow lost him in the city of Lemuria, south of the capitol. Obi-wan sighed and stretched, his wings reaching out to their full length behind him. They were twice as big as they had been when he was fourteen, and now it was completely impossible to hide them. The marginal coverts (the top edges and the 'elbow' of his wings) reached well above his head when he folded them against his back, and the ends came just past the back of his knees. He hadn't mastered the art of flying yet, and he suspected that his wings would have to be bigger in order for him to do so, but he could glide down after jumping from a high building and he could propel himself backwards and up, which came in handy during a fight. 

Obi-wan jumped up when he heard a small gasp. He whirled around and gathered his wings in towards him, but he only brought a hand to his lightsaber instead of activating it. In the open hatch that lead down into the building, a young girl about his age was half out of the opening and staring at him. She had the dark skin and brown hair that was predominant on the planet, and she seemed to be wearing a brown dress.

"Hello." Obi-wan said after they stared at each other for a couple minutes. When she didn't respond, he mentally cursed. Just his luck to run into a local who didn't speak Basic. "Hello." He tried again in the local dialect.

"Hello." She responded quietly. Then she asked something that Obi-wan didn't understand. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry, do you speak Basic?"

Suddenly, she shouted something and disappeared inside. Obi-wan recoiled in shock. She seemed scared of him, and she probably wasn't a threat, but whoever she had called for was a different story. He was in the southern part of the planet, and Obi-wan didn't want to know how they responded to who they believed to be a demon, but they could actually help him and tell him the layout of the city and any known hideouts for criminals like Halcard. 

Obi-wan's indecision cost him, and before he could move the hatch opened again. This time, a middle aged man appeared; he had dark skin and brown hair too, but he had red beads braided into his shoulder-length hair. The man regarded him with dark brown eyes that didn't betray a single ounce of surprise.

"What are you doing on my roof?" The man asked in Basic. "My family has done nothing wrong."

"I-I'm not here for you or your family." Obi-wan frowned. "I need your help." 

"And why would a  _hachil_ like you need help from a simple merchant like me?" 

"I...What did you call me?" 

"A  _hachil_." The man look Obi-wan over again. "You really do need help, don't you?" Obi-wan looked down at himself. Senda IV was a dry, dusty planet, so his clothes were covered in sweat, dirt, and dust from chasing Halcard across the city.

"Yes." Obi-wan finally said, nodding. The man motioned to come closer and climbed back down the hatch, Obi-wan following. Inside, it was a simple house with mud walls and wood beams on the ceiling. The man led him down a hallway and down a flight of stairs into a kitchen. 

"My name is Rharo Prastee. Like I said, I am a merchant here in the city; I own my own shop under the house." The man said as he walked. Inside the kitchen, they sat down at the table. "What do you need?" 

"First, I think, a layout of the city. I have no idea where I am." Prastee nodded and disappeared, and returned a minute later with an old fashioned paper scroll in his hands. 

"And here is your map." Prastee spread the map across the table. It was a birds eye view of the whole city; the city hall in the eastern side, and a maze of streets and markets spreading out towards the jail in the western side. At the center, there was a small park of sorts and a statue in the middle. Prastee pointed to the middle of a street in the northern part of the city. "This is where we are."

"Do you happen to know of a man named Shan Halcard?" Obi-wan asked. 

"Of course I know of him. He's one of the most famous thieves in this city, but no one's been able to get him convicted. Last I heard he left and moved to the capitol."

"Well, he did. But now he's back, and it's my job to find him and bring him back to the capitol where he's going to be tried for treason." 

"You mean you can do that?" 

"Yes. I'm not going to be the judge or anything, no, and I couldn't come after him on my own, I was told to." Obi-wan shook his head. "Anyway, can you tell me anything about the places he visits? Does he have anywhere he's been known to frequent?" Prastee paused, then pointed to a street corner in the southern area. 

"Here. There's a club that is famous for hosting criminals, although I'm not sure about Halcard specifically." 

"Well then, I guess I'll start there." 

 

 

_To be continued..._

 


	3. The Senda IV Mission pt. 2

Prastee insisted that Obi-wan stay with him and his family. Apparently, in the local religion, a  _hachil_ wasn't just a demon of the dead, but a winged spirit from the underworld that brought either good or bad luck, and they were the ones who were in charge of keeping the peace and protecting the people, and they occasionally came to collect the souls of the dead and damned. So Obi-wan really couldn't just walk around with his pale skin and wings, because then there would be a mass panic, and that would only hinder Obi-wans mission. 

"This is my eldest daughter Lomya." Prastee introduced when he brought Obi-wan into a room down the hall form the kitchen. Lomya was a tall, slim girl a few years older than Obi-wan with her fathers skin tone and eyes, but her hair was darker, almost black. "She'll take care of you and your clothes while I get you some new ones." With that Prastee disappeared back down the hallway.

"Well then _hachil_ , take them off." Lomya commanded. Obi-wan recoiled. 

"Excuse me?"

"Your clothes." Lomya put a hand on her hip. "They need to be cleaned. So take them off." Obi-wan flushed. Lomya rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. "Come  _on,_ don't tell me the great  _hachil_ is _embarrassed."_ She reached forward and began pulling on Obi-wans outer tunic. He squawked indignantly, but before he could stop her she had the fabric over his head and whirled him around so she could work it off his wings.

"You know," Obi-wan huffed. "I am perfectly capable of undressing myself. I'm just not in the habit of doing so in the company of strangers."   

"You mean women." Lomya pulled the tunic past his wings and he turned around. 

"No, no. I have two female friends I'm close with, and they have both seen me naked at some point. One of them shrieked and nearly hit her head on the wall she turned around so fast, and the other one just started flirting with me." Poor Bant had had a bruise on her forehead for weeks, and Siri, well. He honestly shouldn't have been surprised. As he told his story, Obi-wan pulled off his inner tunic and handed it to Lomya, who eyed it critically. 

"You've been running a lot, haven't you?" 

"Well, not as much as I could, but I'm not used to this heat." Lomya gave him a disbelieving look, and Obi-wan spread his arms out defensively. He was standing in front of Lomya in only his leggings and boots now. 

"Come on, pants too." Obi-wan sighed and pulled those off. He was totally naked now, and Lomya put his clothes in an old-fashioned washer. "My father should have some clothes for you by now, stay here and I'll get them." Lomya disappeared. Obi-wan sighed again and slid down the wall until he was sitting, and began to contemplate his situation. He, Obi-wan Kenobi, a Jedi padawan from Coruscant, was on a mission from his master to apprehend a criminal, and he was currently sitting naked in a strangers house because the locals would think he was a demon from the underworld. 

He laughed.  _This is one for the history books._

Just then, his commlink beeped from where he had left it on the side counter. 

"Kenobi." He answered. 

"Obi-wan, how is everything going?" His master said, skipping the greeting as per usual. "Have you located Halcard yet?" 

"Well," Obi-wan ran a hand through his short hair. "He's in his hometown like you said he would be, master, and I've located where he might be tonight, but..." He paused. 

"But..." His master prompted, and Obi-wan could practically  _hear_ the raised eyebrow. 

"It's a long story, but I'm currently, ah, receiving help from some locals who think I'm some sort of demon." 

"...What?" 

"That's what I said. But I'm pale and I have wings, so they think I'm from the underworld." Obi-wan chuckled. Qui-gon sighed from the other end of the commlink. 

"Alright, just...Just keep me updated." 

They quickly signed off and Lomya reappeared a few seconds later with a bundle of clothes for him.  

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

That night, Obi-wan went to the club Prastee had mentioned. It was in the shady part of town, with women standing outside dressed in clothes sized more like napkins than clothes, smokers hanging out in alleys and corners, music loud enough that Obi-wan could hear it from across the street, and even a couple drug deals on the street corner. Nothing Obi-wan hadn't seen before. He had found a good position to watch everything from the roof of the building across the street, but the chill was slowly seeping into his bones. Prastee had given him a replacement pair of brown leggings and a tunic, but he hadn't needed a jacket when he left. (Nor would he have fit into it anyway, with his wings)

He was there for almost an hour before he spotted Halcard. Obi-wan must've missed him going into the club, because when a light turned on in one of the rooms above the club, Obi-wan glanced up and found himself staring into the window of Halcard's bedroom, with the man in question standing in the middle of the room. Obi-wan jolted up in surprise and nearly fell over the side of the building. It had been easier than expected. 

Obi-wan ran to his left, jumping across buildings until he made it to a part of the street that didn't have anyone standing outside to see him. He started looking for a hatch that he could open and sneak through the building, but then he realized that someone probably lived there. He couldn't just  _break in._ Obi-wan looked over to the building on the other side of the street. It was level with the one he was on, and they weren't spaced too far apart, but he had't jumped a distance that far yet. Then he looked back to the club; he didn't know how long Halcard was going to be there.  _Now or never_. Obi-wan thought grimly. 

Then he took a running start and jumped. 

Obi-wan had calculated how much he would have rely on himself and how much would be the Force, but math had never been his best subject. He fell just short of the building, and he whacked his forehead on the edge of the roof. He managed to hold on to the edge, despite the pain that suddenly shot through his head, and groaned out loud as he pulled himself up. He fell on his back, panting, and reached up to wipe away the sweat that was sliding down his temple. When he pulled his hand away, it was stained red with blood. 

"I hate this place." He muttered darkly to himself. Obi-wan hauled himself up and began running back to the club. It seemed longer than the run away from the club, but it was probably just his imagination. 

When he got there, he found a hatch and nearly ripped it off its hinges. Obi-wan ignored that and jumped in. The hallway was hardly lit better than the night sky outside, and there was the faint smell of smoke and sweat in the air. He frowned distastefully and started walking. Halfway down the hallway, a girl opened the door suddenly to his right. She was probably a prostitute, like the ones Obi-wan had seen outside, and while prostitution was illegal on Senda IV, Obi-wan simply scowled at her, and she made a small squeaking noise and quickly shut the door. 

When he made it to the stairs, Obi-wan forced himself to calm down and reach out with the Force. All he knew was that Halcard was on the second to the top floor, but he didn't know what room.The Force guided him down a floor, then down to a room near the end of the hallway. He could hear voices on the other side, and he could hear another person, a woman, in the room with Halcard, but she was angry and upset. And just about to leave. 

The door swung open and Obi-wan found himself looking at a woman a few years older than him, with dark brown curls and hazel eyes. She froze in horror when she saw him, but Obi-wan looked past her and locked eyes with Halcard, who looked significantly paler. Obi-wan shifted, so that the woman could rush past him without hitting his wings, which she did after staring for a couple seconds. Halcard had moved back to the farthest wall, and as Obi-wan stepped into the room he muttered something in the local language that sounded like a prayer. 

"I'm here for you, Halcard." Obi-wan said, and for a moment he allowed himself to enjoy the look of fear in the mans eyes. 

Then he attacked.

 

_To be continued..._

 


	4. The Senda IV Mission pt. 3

They reached each other in the middle of the room, and Halcard was more trained than Obi-wan had originally thought. But he was no Jedi. They exchanged a few blows, and Obi-wan even managed to dislocate Halcards right arm. But then Halcard got in a punch to the side of Obi-wans face and managed to kick his legs out from under him at the same time, and the next thing Obi-wan knows is that he's on the floor and he can hear Halcards footsteps running down the hallway. He cursed, loudly and with as many curse words he knew in Basic, and scrambled up to race after Halcard. 

Unfortunately, Halcard ran straight down to the club and into the throng of people. Obi-wan froze just at the foot of the steps. He couldn't go into that room for the same reason he had to wait for Halcard on the roof of the building across the street; his wings would attract too much attention, and then it would be even _harder_ to go after him. Obi-wan backed up, then turned around and raced back up the stairs, towards the roof. 

By the time he made it there, Halcard was just exiting the club. The man was panting and holding his dislocated arm awkwardly, but he grinned when he didn't see Obi-wan following his out of the club. Then he took off down the street, and Obi-wan followed him on the roof. Or he did until they reached what was probably a bustling market square during the day, and was a less crowded place for drug deals in the nighttime, and Obi-wan could no longer follow on rooftop. He sighed dramatically. 

"Just my luck." He said aloud to the sky. "It's just my luck to be stuck chasing a criminal when I can't be seen by anyone else without making a fuss." 

When he made it back to the Prastee household, there was a single candle burning next to the hatch on the roof. Obi-wan smiled to himself. While he had been getting dressed, he had made a passing remark to Lomya that he tended to get lost easily, especially in a city like hers, where most of the buildings looked the same. She must have mentioned it to her father. 

Obi-wan silently opened the hatch and climbed down, using the Force a little to completely muffle his steps. The rest of the house was fast asleep; Prastee had given Obi-wan a small room on the far end of the hallway, on the second floor. It had the same white walls as the rest of the house, and a small wooden closet and a matching bed, and a window on the wall above the bed. The curtains were closed, fortunately, so Obi-wan stripped out of his tunics and plopped down on the bed. 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Then next thing he knows, Obi-wan is being woken up by Lomya. He doesn't remember falling asleep, and it feels like he had only slept for an hour at most. Then Lomya opens the curtains, and Obi-wan almost growls at her. He rolled over and pulled the covers over his head instead. 

"Come on,  _hachil_." Lomya teased.

"Stop calling me that." Obi-wan groaned. 

"Why?" She asked. Obi-wan glared, but Lomya ignored him. "I brought you your clothes. Breakfast is ready too." She swept out of the room before he could say anything else. Grudgingly, Obi-wan got up and got dressed in his own clothes. 

When he made it to the kitchen, Lomya and the other girl from the day before were sitting at the table. Lomya motioned for him to sit down in a chair and began to ladle food onto his plate. Breakfast was a mix between fruit and berries and sweet bread, and some kind of flavored water.  

"This is my sister, Leena." She introduced. Obi-wan smiled at Leena, who smiled shyly back.

"So," Lomya began. "Are you going to go after Halcard again?" 

"Wait, how did you know about that?" 

"I know everything." She answered with a completely straight face. Obi-wan raised an eyebrow and took another bite of bread. 

"But yes, I am going to go after him again. I have to." 

"Why?" Obi-wan stared at her in surprise. Poor Leena just watched the conversation with a blank and slightly confused expression. 

"Because he committed treason, and it's my job to bring him to justice." Obi-wan said slowly. 

"But why is it  _your_ job?" 

"Because..." Obi-wan frowned in confusion. "Because I was told to do it." 

"That's it?" Now Lomya was confused. "You don't question authority? You don't question _why_ you're sent on this mission?" 

"No." 

"Wow." Lomya gave her sister a weird look and said something in their first language that Obi-wan didn't understand, then looked back at him. "A little questioning of authority and making a scene can be a good thing sometimes." 

Before Obi-wan could respond, Rharo Prastee came running into the room. 

" _Hachil,_ _"_ He panted. "You are not going to believe who just walked past the store." 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Obi-wan followed Halcard two blocks on rooftop again. The man had put his arm in a makeshift sling, and he had purple bruising along his collar bone and neck. He looked haggard, like he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Obi-wan smirked to himself. 

Halcard walked briskly into a crowded market, and, to Obi-wans surprise, people recognized him immediately. They parted and got out of his way as soon as they saw him, which meant that suddenly there was a wide gap in the sea of people. Lomya's words echoed in his head:  _making a scene can be a good thing sometimes._ This whole time, he had been making sure that people didn't see him, and Halcard had used that to his advantage and disappeared in a crowd. If people thought he was a  _hachil..._

Obi-wan took a few steps back and spread his wings. "Shan Halcard!" He roared, only using the Force a little bit to amplify his voice. Halcard turned around so sharply he fell over, and the crowd backed all the way up to the shops lining the square. Obi-wan took a running jump off the building, letting his wings flare out behind him, mostly for effect. Halcard was still on the ground, obviously panicking. Slowly, relishing the moment like he probably shouldn't have been, Obi-wan slowly stalked towards him, making a show of igniting his lightsaber halfway there. Halyards face went white.

"Shan Halcard!" Obi-wan repeated. "You are coming with me."

 

_To be continued..._

 


	5. The Senda IV Mission pt. 4

The ride to the capitol city, Sechel, was boring and uneventful. Halcard spent the entire time basically sulking quietly, and Obi-wan had readily ignored him. He had said his goodbyes to the Prastee family quickly and discreetly, and while he had explained to them that they probably wouldn't see him again, at least not any time soon, Rharo Prastee had only snorted and said that one  _hachil_ in his lifetime was enough. 

Sechel reminded Obi-wan of Coruscant; it was big, crowded, loud, and fast. He navigated through the traffic with ease, despite the fact that Qui-gon never let him drive, and he ignored the fact that Halcard was glaring at everything, including him. He drifted down to the hangar for the royal palace and puled the speeder to a stop, but then two things happened almost at once. His commlink beeped, meaning that Qui-gon was probably wondering where he was. A split second later, Halcard lunged over and punched Obi-wan on the side of his face, making his head bang against the side of the speeder door. Pain exploded through his head, making his vision go momentarily white. When he recovered, Halcard was already out of the speeder and making a run for it. Obi-wan groaned loudly and lunged across the seats of the speeder, using the Force to make Halcard trip and fall over. By the time he reached him, Halcard was already scrambling up, but Obi-wan pulled him up by the sling. Halcard yelped in pain; apparently, the arm was still dislocated. Obi-wan rolled his eyes and led the other man to the lift. Halcard stared at him, which Obi-wan refused to acknowledge.

" _What?_ " Obi-wan snapped when it finally become too much. 

"You're not really a _hachil_ , are you?"

"Hardly." Obi-wan snorted. Halcard smirked darkly and glanced at Obi-wans temple meaningfully, then looked at the door. Obi-wan reached up to the side of his head, and when he pulled his hand back it was covered in blood. He scowled.

The door chimed open and Obi-wan dragged Halcard down the hallway. The few senators and other higher-ups they ran into immediately jumped out of the way. They must've made quite the sight; an angry, bruised, and bloody Jedi padawan and an even more bruised criminal with his arm in a sling. He even thought he saw someone take a holoimage. They reached the doors that led to the throne room, where King Iac would pass judgement on Halcard, and the guards didn't even question them, and opened up the doors. The room was big and grand, like most royal throne rooms were, and King Iac was sitting on his throne and Qui-gon Jinn was standing a little off to the side, and they were obviously in the middle of a heated discussion. 

"I must go find him!" Qui-gon was saying. King Iac noticed them first, and he made a surprised face that would've been funny in any other circumstance, causing Qui-gon to turn around. 

"Your majesty," Obi-wan said, bowing. "Master." He walked into the room, dragging Halcard with him. 

"You have found the criminal." Iac said, with a tone of surprise. 

"Obviously." Obi-wan said with a sardonic smile, not quite able to control himself. "Now, if you have no further need of me, please excuse me while I go get myself cleaned up and see to my wounds." He bowed again, and made a quick exit.

 

* * *

 

Qui-gon found him in their shared quarters just when Obi-wan had just gotten dressed. 

"Eventful couple days, then?" He asked in a conversational tone. Obi-wan rolled his eyes. 

"Like you would not believe." 

"Didn't you want to see what would happen to Halcard?" 

"Not particularly. I haven't bathed in two days; I was more interested in a shower." He had gone for longer without bathing, of course. Such was the nature of diplomatic missions; some of them were just more fighting than diplomacy. Just because he could go longer, however, didn't mean he liked it. 

"Even after he gave you that black eye?" 

" _Jedi_ do not seek _vengeance_." Obi-wan replied in an imperious tone, looking down his nose at his master. It was hard to do, since Qui-gon was easily half a foot taller than him, but he managed. Qui-gon smirked and tugged on his padawan braid affectionately. 

"Right you are, padawan." 

 

* * *

 

Obi-wan wasn't sure how he had ended up in this situation. He had gone down to the local cantina to get a drink, because he honestly needed one, and legality be  _damned._  Qui-gon wasn't a big casual drinker, especially on missions, so the cantina it was.The man next to him had started a conversation, and just when Obi-wan was about to tell him that he really wasn't interested, he had found himself surrounded. Then one thing led to another, and Obi-wan found himself with his back against a wall in a room above the cantina, an arm pressing against his collar bone to hold him in place, and five other males in their early twenties surrounding him. 

"What a pretty little thing you are." The one who was holding him in place, who must've been the leader, purred. Obi-wan leaned as far away as he could from the man. "We're gonna 'ave some fun with you, ain't we boys?" The other men laughed and wolf-whistled in agreement. Obi-wan felt his blood go cold in a final admission of his situation. He hadn't brought his lightsaber with him, because he hadn't though he would need it, and he couldn't focus enough to use the Force. The leader trailed his hands down Obi-wans chest. "And what pretty wings you have!"  _Ah, so **they're**_ _why this is happening._ Obi-wan thought numbly. The leaders hands got lower and lower, and Obi-wan found his hands shaking and his breath becoming ragged and his pulse quickening. Then the mans hands were down his pants, and Obi-wan's vision went white with pure terror. 

The next thing he knows, the five men are spread around the room, unconscious. Obi-wan gasped for breath and slid down the wall until he was sitting down, blinking back tears, and folded his knees up against his chest. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he was sure that the rush of terror he felt was so strong that he was sure his master had felt it. In fact, it had been so strong that he wouldn't be surprised if every Force-sensitive being with a mile-radius had felt it.  

The minutes ticked on, and Obi-wan forced himself to calm down and to get up and leave. But he couldn't. His breathing was still ragged and his pulse racing, and he couldn't seem to make his muscles obey his commands. He wanted to get to the door, but he couldn't; it was so  _far_ , and he would have to get past all the men who were attempting to...to...

Qui-gon practically broke the door off it's hinges he opened it so fast, and he strode in with a thunderous expression on his face. Obi-wan looked down, and suddenly he realized his hands were shaking. He tried wrapping his arms around his knees and balling his hands into fists, but they were shaking too much. Suddenly, he felt very small, and very weak. 

"Obi-wan?" Qui-gon asked softly form above him. He didn't look up, but out of the corner of his eye he could see his master kneeling down in front of him. 

"I..." He swallowed. "I don't know what happened. One second they're..." He gestured unnecessarily. "And the next..." He trailed off. Qui-gon reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Oh, my dear padawan." He muttered, and Obi-wan found himself blinking back tears again. "Ah, Obi-wan," Qui-gons voice changed, becoming more surprised. "What happened to your wings?" Still not looking up, Obi-wan turned his head in confusion. 

Suddenly, he realized why he felt so small. 

His wings were gone.

 


	6. The Discovery

That had been five days ago. As soon as they had gotten back to the temple, they had gone straight to the Healers, and Obi-wan hasn't been out since. He had practically begged Qui-gon not to tell anyone what had happened at the cantina; his master had finally caved, on the one exception that they tell his primary Healer. Master Vokara Che had just about had a fit when she heard, but she dealt with it much more gracefully than Obi-wan had.

He actually felt physically _fine,_  all his real wounds had been treated, but his wings had yet to reappear and it was a bit jarring when you practically had to learn how to walk again. Actually, he had to basically relearn how to do everything now that he no longer had wings to think about. It made him feel light, not in a good way, like he might fall over or float away at any second, and it made him acutely aware of the fact that he was relatively short for a human male. (When he was younger, the Healers had positively identified him as  _part_ -human, and since no one had any templates to compare the rest of his genetics to, that's what he identified as.) 

The Healers had taken all different types of X-ray and Force-sensing you could think of, and they were still dumbfounded. His wings had always just been _there_ , and they weren't something he thought could just disappear. Sometimes he had wished that they _would_ disappear, but that was a different story. Bant kept giving him sympathetic looks, and at first he bore them with good grace, but now he just looked away. He knew she had good intentions, but she couldn't understand. He didn't think anyone could. Something that had simply always been part of who he was, something that he had  _just_ accepted and learned to work with, had just disappeared, and he had no explanation. 

 _Force, and just two years ago I had finally learned how to do the stances in the Ataru._  Obi-wan silently lamented to himself.  _Now I have to learn them all over agin._ Before he could properly wallow in self pity, the door to his room opened. 

"Wow, you really are tiny." Garen Muln drawled as he sauntered in. Obi-wan, despite his situation, gave his friend the driest look he could muster. Which probably would have had some sort of effect on anyone else, but not Garen. They had known each other for far too long. 

"Did you just drop by to see how I was doing?" Obi-wan asked in a tone to match his expression. "Or is this a social call?" Garen shrugged.

"Hey, you're my friend. I figured since you're stuck with the Healers, I might as well grace you with my presence." He flicked his imaginary hair over his shoulder and batted his eyelashes. Obi-wan rolled his eyes, but he was glad to see Garen. If anyone could take his mind off things and not treat him like he was either a rare anomaly or about to burst into tears and shatter like he was made of glass, it was Garen. 

"What's that for?" Obi-wan nodded to the data pad Garen had tucked under one arm. 

"Well!" He held it out and tossed it to him. "That, my friend, is all the course work you've missed while being stuck in here." Obi-wan groaned loudly and closed his eyes, and let the pad stay where it had landed on his lap. He heard fabric rustle as Garen reached for something, and then he heard an audible click.

"Why me?" He asked out loud. His eyes snapped open a second later as he registered what he had heard, but he didn't move. "Did you just take a holoimage of me bitching about my course work?" Garen just laughed, and Obi-wan finally turned to look at him. He was holding a holocamera up and pointing it at Obi-wan, smirking. 

"You bastard." Obi-wan snapped. Garen cackled and put it back in his bag.

"Just more blackmail material for when you're all old and wise and stoic and have a padawan of your own."

"I already am  _wise_." Obi-wan huffed and folded his arms. 

"Keep telling yourself that, Kenobi." 

 

* * *

 

An hour after Garen left, his master walked into the room, looking rather peeved. Obi-wan raised his eyebrows.

"Is everything alright, master?" He asked, even though, no, it wasn't alright, and Qui-gon had probably just gotten out of arguing with the council. Again.

"I hope it will be, Obi-wan." Qui-gon answered cryptically.  _Again_. 

Then he got a surprise visit from Masters Windu, Yoda, and Dooku. _Uh-oh. That's half the council._   _What have you done now, Qui-gon?_

"Padawan." Yoda greeted. "Feeling better, are you?" Obi-wan shrugged. 

"Not too bad." Physically, at least. What he was feeling psychologically... He was ignoring. 

"The council has read over the circumstances of your condition, and we have decided to test our theory on why your wings have disappeared." Dooku explained in an imperious tone. Well, not particularly. A few years ago, Obi-wan had come to the conclusion that  _imperiously_ was just how his grandmaster talked  _all the time._

"...How?" 

"Just sit up and relax your mind, padawan." When Obi-wan did as told, Dooku stepped over and placed his hands on Obi-wans temples. For a second, nothing happened, but then he felt Dooku pressing against his mental shields. Obi-wan panicked, and strengthened his shields, but Dooku pressed harder, and Obi-wan forced himself to relax and let Dooku in. 

Next thing he knows, he's right back on Senda IV, in the one room above the cantina surrounded by his would-be rapists. 

 _No!_ He mentally shouted, trying to struggle. But something was holding him in place.  _No no no!_

 _You are a Jedi, Obi-wan._ A small voice in his head said.  _Fight back. Do not take this laying down._ Obi-wan wasn't sure where the voice came from, but it wasn't helping the rapid growing panic in his gut. 

 _I don't think I can do this again._ Obi-wan felt the leaders hand sliding down again, and he felt his vision blur. 

 _Fight back!_ The voice commanded. Obi-wan felt a surge of Force energy, and he finally managed to swing his arms out. 

When his vision cleared, Obi-wan was back in the room the Healers had given him, and he was crouched down with his back against the wall on the far side of the room. Dooku was opposite him, pressed against the wall like he had been pushed. He felt a familiar weight on his back, and he didn't have to turn his head to see his wings in his peripheral vision. 

"Well, that settles it." Dooku declared, straightening. He was giving Obi-wan a strange look, and suddenly he realized that Dooku _knew_. "It seems your wings react to your most extreme emotions." Qui-gon stepped over and crouched down so he was eye-level with Obi-wan. 

"Are you alright, padawan?" He asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Obi-wan took in a shuddering breath and nodded. He wasn't fine just yet, but he would be. He would make sure of it. 

 


	7. The Secret

That had been years ago, more than Obi-wan would like to admit. The council had decided that in order to keep him safe and not compromise his position on missions, he would need to keep his wings hidden. Only the council, his age mates, and the few older masters that had known him as a padawan even knew that he had wings. He even had to walk around the temple with them hidden. He could only let go and stretch his wings when he knew that he was going to be alone, but with Anakin and Ahsoka around, those times were getting more and more rare.

Somehow, he had been given the rank of master, a position on the council, a padawan, and now a grand-padawan. Sometimes, he liked to think on all those things and consider himself blessed. He had so many things that some other Jedi never got the chance to have. He was respected by his fellow masters, admired by the knights and padawans, and cared for by his friends.

But other times, he was brought back into the harsh reality. Not only was he a master, but he was a high general in the army of the republic. He was in charge of an entire battalion of clones, and he was known for his successful battle plans and negotiations. Sometimes, he felt like had had been fighting for _decades,_ and every battle blurred together until he could't tell the difference. But he remembered just about every second he spent on the battle field, and those memories would keep him up at night. The stress was making tiny lines appear in the corners of his eyes and more often than not he left his meditating sessions feeling stiff and no more calm. Faith in the Order was wavering among knights, masters, and padawans alike, and even Obi-wan was beginning to doubt himself and the Code. On the really bad nights, when he was secluded in his own room and the rest of the temple slept, he would remember all those that had been taken from him. 

_Qui-gon..._

_Tahl..._

_Micah..._

_Dooku..._

_Reeft..._

Quickly, Obi-wan mentally shook himself. A meditation room was no place to loose yourself in depressing thoughts of the past. It was empty, and reserved exclusively for masters, but there was no telling who happened to be nearby to feel his distress in the Force. Besides, his bond with Anakin was weak and old, but the younger knight was so empathic he probably knew something was wrong anyway. 

Suddenly feeling twice his age, Obi-wan stood and rolled his shoulders. His wings weren't out; otherwise they would have brushed against the walls on either side. They were massive now, longer than he was tall, and he had become sort of an expert on flying. But there was no telling when he would be called away, or when someone would run in, in need of his expertise. A few years ago, he would have taken any chance he got to have his wings out, even for a minute. Now, it became too risky, and he hadn't been out flying in...in... He couldn't remember. Before the Clone Wars, definitely. That thought made his heart sink and his soul actually _ache_ , in a way that it only did when he thought about flying nowadays. It had never happened before Qui-gon had died. The Force did what it could, but Obi-wan had been born to fly, and the Force couldn't simply replace something like that. 

His commlink beeped at his side, shaking him from his thoughts. Obi-wan pulled it out of his utility belt and held it up. 

"Kenobi." He answered, going from brooding old man to the famed Negotiator and Jedi general in the blink of an eye. 

"Sorry Obi-wan, looks like your break is over." It was Anakin. "We have a new mission."

"Break? What break?" Obi-wan chuckled dryly. "Jedi don't get breaks. Where shall I meet you?"

 

* * *

  

Obi-wan met Mace, Yoda, Anakin, Ahsoka, Captain Rex, and Commander Cody inside one of the many rooms inside the temple reserved for viewing holo images. They were all circled around the table, and they all looked up when Obi-wan entered. 

"Just in time." Mace said gruffly. Or at least a little more gruff than he usually was. "I was just about to start. You mission is on the Outer Rim planet of Senda IV. Obi-wan, I want you to go with Skywalker and Padawan Tano because you've been there before and you know the local culture." Obi-wan looked up quickly, but Mace was just looking at him with his usual expression. If he knew that he had just come dangerously close to making a joke, he didn't show it. 

"Occupied, the capitol city has been." Yoda continued for Mace. "By Separatist forces, led by someone unknown to us. Help free the people, you must." 

"Not only are the people being oppressed, but Senda IV is an essential trading point for the Republic, and their senators are some of the biggest supporters of the Jedi and Republic." Mace pressed a button, and a holo image of Senda IV popped up. "You'll set up base here, at the village closest to the capitol city, Lemuria. From there, you'll be able to scan the Separatist army and determine a plan of attack. Any questions?"  No one spoke up. 

"May the Force be with you." Yoda dismissed them. 

 

* * *

 

"Hey, can we talk?" Anakin held him back from the rest of the group when they had started walking down the hallway. Ahsoka kept walking ahead with Cody and Rex, speaking in hushed tones but with wild hand motions. Probably some exaggerated story about a Jedi mission she had gone on with Anakin. 

"Of course, Anakin. Is everything alright?" Obi-wan turned his attention to his friend. He seemed worried, but it wasn't like the Hero With No Fear to be worried about a mission. 

"That's what I was going to ask you." Anakin raised his eyebrows. "You've been working non-stop for months. And coming back to the temple doesn't count, because all you do is train and go to council meetings. And just now, before I messaged you, I could feel your tension from halfway across the temple." 

"I have no reason to not be fine. I've been working no more and no less than every other Jedi-"

"Obi-wan." Anakin sighed. He knew when Obi-wan was deflecting or using his negotiating skills to answer without really answering. 

"I am touched by your concern, but we have a mission to complete, and your padawan is probably running out of stories to entertain Cody and Rex with." Obi-wan quickly threw the attention away from him. He hadn't meant to broadcast his emotions that loudly, and he didn't want Anakin worrying about him too much. _He's going to worry about me anyway_ , Obi-wan quickly amended. _But I can't tell him what's really bothering me without **telling**  him. _Obi-wan hated keeping secrets, especially from Anakin, but he knew it would be a disaster if Anakin ever found out. When they had first met, Anakin had been nine, and new to everything to do with Jedi, and Obi-wan had been in mourning. He had kept his wings a secret at the time without thinking about it, and by the time he realized what had happened, it was too late. Anakin had only just begun to trust him, and he knew that if he sprung something like  _wings_ on him, he would most likely never trust him again. As time went on, the more Anakin trusted him, and the more Anakin trusted him, the closer they were, and the closer they were, the bigger the fallout would be. And Obi-wan didn't think he could handle losing another one of his friends. 

 


	8. Rencontrer

 

They made it to Senda IV within a few hours. The planet looked the same as it had the last time Obi-wan had been there, and it brought up painful memories. The last time he had stood on a ship in space looking at it, Qui-gon had been giving him a brief run down of the general plan for the mission, and Obi-wan had only been half paying attention. They had been on a small two person shuttle, that couldn't even compare to the size and fire power of a Star Destroyer. But it had been warmer, thanks to Obi-wan turning the thermostat up again, and his wings had been out, and he and Qui-gon had exchanged friendly banter, and Obi-wan found that he remembered so much detail from that one memory that he felt a little disoriented when he turned and found Anakin and Ahsoka standing by his side instead of Qui-gon. 

"So." Anakin began, looking out at Senda IV. "Master Windu said something about you coming here before?" 

"Yes." Obi-wan chuckled to himself. "It was a few years before we met. I was...Eighteen?" Obi-wan paused, thinking, fully aware that Ahsoka had turned to look at him and was probably wondering what The Negotiator had been like as a teenager. "No, seventeen. I had been seventeen, and my master and I were sent here to help the government re-stabilize after a long fight with a group of rebels that tried to over throw them. I had been sent off to find the leader of the rebels, while my master did most of the talking. It only took about two days, but I found him, and we had a few good fights. It was no big deal, though." Obi-wan grinned slightly at the memory. Anakin laughed. 

"Never thought you would be the troublemaker, master." He said cheekily. Obi-wan barely contained himself from rolling his eyes. 

"I'll have you know I was a perfectly well-behaved padawan, thank you very much." 

Ahsoka had a look on her face that matched her master's. "Well, most well-behaved padawans don't get into 'a few good fights'." She did her best impression of Obi-wan. This time, he did roll his eyes. 

They continued on like that for a couple minutes. Obi-wan felt an unsettling sense of deja-vu wash over him. He had come to terms with Qui-gon's death a while ago, and even before that he had come to terms that he wouldn't always be Qui-gon's padawan. But it still throbbed painfully in his chest whenever he thought about how he could never turn around and see his master standing there, or how he would never be able to trade the friendly barbs or inside jokes they shared again. It especially hurt whenever Obi-wan smelled that  _one specific_ blend of tea that Qui-gon had loved but Obi-wan had hated. Obi-wan had, on multiple occasions, proclaimed his strong dislike for that blend, but as far as he knew it was the only type of tea Qui-gon ever drank. It had been the source of friendly banter between them on many occasions; now, when Obi-wan smelled that blend, he had to force his mouth shut so he didn't start speaking to a man that was no longer there. 

 

* * *

 

A little while later they were planet-side, and Obi-wan found himself wandering around the outskirts of Lemuria. The place itself hadn't changed too much, but now it had a large wall wrapped around it that only had openings for the roads. He hadn't gotten a good look at the town the last time he had been there, but it was still eerily familiar. He scanned the streets, not really finding anything that he immediately recognized, but then someone spoke a few paces down the street. 

" _Hachil!"_  A female voice shouted. Obi-wan turned, and saw a woman about his age standing in the street with a basket resting on her hip. "It's been a long time." 

"Hello." He said slowly, trying to place this woman. But then she gave him an expectant look, and it finally clicked. "Lomya! What a coincidence!" She looked mostly the same as she had eighteen years ago, but her hair was shorter and her face more weathered. 

"You've gotten old, _hachil_." She said with a purse of her lips, but the corner of her mouth was twitching in her vain attempt at holding back a smile. 

"Well, that is what happens. And I daresay that time has ben equally as generous to you." Obi-wan responded, and she threw back her head and laughed. 

"It has been a long time." She repeated. "How are you?"

"Oh, I can't complain. I've been alright. How about you? And your family?"

"Well, my father is still holding on, the stubborn bastard. He'll be glad to see you." She said it with more than a hint of sarcasm, and it was Obi-wan's turn to laugh. "But my sister and I are running the store now, and I've gotten married and started my own family." Obi-wan was just about to congratulate her when Ahsoka came running up to him.

"Master!" She panted. Then she noticed Lomya, and she straightened. "Uh, Master Obi-wan, Master Anakin wants to see you by the landing site." Obi-wan nodded to her and turned to Lomya.

"You're with the Republic?" She asked before he could say anything. He grinned ruefully and nodded. "Well then, I won't keep you from your duties. It's good to see you." Unexpectedly, she pulled him into a hug. "What happened to your wings?" She hissed in his ear. 

"Long story." He whispered back. "Maybe later." They pulled apart, with Lomya giving him a suspicious look, and Obi-wan hurried after Ahsoka before she could ask any more questions. 

"You know her?" Ahsoka asked as they walked. 

"Yes. I met her the last time I was here." He said, but she must have sensed that he didn't want to talk about it, because she stayed quiet. 

He found Anakin standing just outside of the wall that surrounded the town. He was staring at something with interest, and he only glanced at Obi-wan when he joined him.

"Look at this mural." Anakin motioned forwards, and Obi-wan looked. The mural was beautiful, and very detailed and colorful, but it made Obi-wan's stomach drop. "It reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it... I asked one of the locals, and he said that it was a mural dedicated to the towns patron, a kind of demon that saved them a few years ago from some big criminal. I don't know who he is, but he must have done something pretty impressive, from the way the local talked about him." 

Obi-wan was barely listening. The mural was a large painting of him, when he had arrested Halcard, with his wings spread and lightsaber out, staring down at them. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rencontrer means 'to meet (again)' in French, which is what I always thought the native language on Senda IV sounded like in my head.  
> Also, if you speak French better than me (only 3 years, with alright grades) than feel free to correct me! I only used my vague memory of learning this verb a few months ago.


	9. Stars Will Watch Over You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter and cliffhanger warning!

 

That night, Obi-wan sat in his bunk and panicked. The mural had been really close. His current lightsaber looked nothing like it did in the mural, which was a plus, and they hadn't added his padawan braid. Those two things probably would have given himself a way faster than any facial recognition Anakin could have had. The face, unfortunately, had been extremely precise, and Obi-wan had never been more grateful for his beard. Sure, people generally looked a little different at the ages of seventeen and thirty five, but they were still recognizable. 

To try and calm himself down and get the sleep he knew he needed, Obi-wan listed all the things that had been in the mural that weren't accurate or had changed. The lightsaber, which looked more like a blue sword than a lightsaber. He didn't have a padawan braid, which would have given away at least his identity as a Jedi, although it had been a predominant feature and he was a little surprised it hadn't been put in. His hair in the mural was more brown than it was currently, and it was much shorter. 

The only thing he was really worried about, then, was Anakin figuring it out. Either he would match up his story to the local one, or he would recognize Obi-wan's face from when they had first met on Tatooine, and Obi-wan had still been a clean-shaven apprentice. 

Sighing, Obi-wan sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep, despite how much he needed it. Obi-wan walked slowly to the window and gazed up at the stars. They were different from the ones he sometimes saw on Coruscant, obviously, but they brought him a small amount of comfort. On every planet he had ever visited, stars had been the only constant. Each planet had a different ecosystem, and sometimes it was so vastly different that the sky would be some other color than blue, but they all saw the stars at night. They reminded Obi-wan that there was something out there looking out for him, that something being the Force, and that he would never be truly lost. No matter where he was or what he was doing, he always had a constant companion in the Force, and that one day, he would see all those he had lost again. 

Obi-wan shivered and snapped out of it. He must have dropped into some sort of trance, because the moon was lower and his arms were starting to go numb. The window was open, and he was only wearing a pair of leggings. On his arms, his tattoos shown in the moonlight, and Obi-wan smiled despite himself. On Stewjon, it was a tradition for warriors to get half-sleeve tattoos on their forearm in their family colors, and he thinks that he has proven his warrior status time and time again, despite being called 'The Negotiator'. Obi-wan wasn't one to be called sentimental, but he had been young and proud, and had thought that he should honor his family and his home planet in some way. He might identify more as a Jedi than a Stewjon warrior, but there was something calming and securing about knowing where he came from. Plus, Qui-gon had been all for the idea, but that hadn't been surprising. 

 

* * *

 

A few native Lemuria citizens had allowed the Republic forces access to their homes, but there wasn't nearly enough for all of them. Originally, Obi-wan had wanted to sleep in the camp they had set up outside the wall, with the rest of the men. But somehow Rex, Anakin,  _and_ Cody had argued their way into getting him to sleep in one of the rooms available. According to Anakin, he was the best at speaking and working with locals, so he should be nearest to them, and according to Rex and Cody, they couldn't have all their Jedi in one place, and since he was technically higher ranked than the rest of them it might as well be him. Obi-wan had argued, but finally he had just let them have their way in favor of getting to bed earlier.

But that meant that Obi-wan, and a few clones, were the only ones inside the city when the Separatists closed them in.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had to give Obi-wan tattoos because that is the one head canon I will not be shaken from. 
> 
> Also shout out to you guys who comment on my chapters. When ever I get a notification that some one commented it makes my day, and I don't respond, but believe me the fact that other people are as excited about this story as I am is amazing.


	10. Battle of Lemuria

 

Obi-wan woke up a few hours later to loud sounds of commotion outside. He was up in a couple seconds; after spending so much time on the front lines, his reflexes were as sharp as they've ever been, especially in response to any type of loud noise. After throwing on his clothes and armor, Obi-wan rushed downstairs. The man who owned the house, an elderly man named Darall Polorv who used to own a bookstore, was standing in the front room peeking out of the curtains. The clones who had also stayed there over night were no where to be seen. 

"Sir." Obi-wan said when he saw the other man. "What's going on?" 

"Well, first of all, like I said last night, I'll not have anyone calling me 'sir' or 'Mr. Polorv' in my own house." He turned and fixed Obi-wan with a pointed stare over his glasses. "And as for what's happening outside, I don't really know." Obi-wan walked over and they both looked through the curtains. People were running up and down the street shouting at each other in their native language. Obi-wan had gotten better at languages since he had been seventeen, but this one was only spoken on Senda IV, in the southern hemisphere, and had been low on his list of priorities. He had brushed up on it when he had gotten the mission, and it helped that most people on Senda IV spoke Basic, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep up with the beginnings of mass hysteria. Darall, however, seemed just as unable to distinguish what they were saying. He stood up, went over to the door and opened it. Obi-wan's protest was drowned out when Darall pointed to someone and called them over. A young man appeared in the doorway, sweating and panting like he had run all over he town. He and Darall exchanged a few words, and Obi-wan knew it was serious from the look on Darall's face. 

"Well?" He questioned. "What's happened?"

"It's the Separatists." Darall said darkly. "They've arrived, with their army, and they've closed all exits in The Wall. They've barricaded us in. Your soldiers left just a minute ago." Obi-wan had barely let the news sink in when he heard the familiar clanking of droids in the distance, and the screams that came with it. 

"Okay, Darall, you need to stay here. Help as many people as you can, get them off the streets, but whatever you do, do not open the door for a droid, or think that you can fight one. I'll go out there, do as much damage control as I can."

"Go!" Darall shooed him towards the door before he could continue. "I know how to handle myself. Now go save my city." Obi-wan nodded to him and rushed out into the street. He followed the sound of droids, and after about a dozen back alleys and residential streets he came to one of the main roads, and it was in chaos. People were running everywhere, and a couple dozen droids were marching their way down, shooting at everything that crossed their path. Immediately, Obi-wan ignited his lightsaber and stepped out into the street. 

 

* * *

 

The sun was hardly up yet, and Obi-wan was already in the middle of a battle he hadn't planned on. Usually the enemy was courteous enough to wait until after sunrise to launch an attack on this level. The droids had gone down easily enough, but there were more of them, and Obi-wan knew his limits. He would need help after a while, especially if he also needed to open the gates. 

 _First things first then_. He thought.  _Find the clones._ There had only been a handful, not nearly enough to take all these droids on their own. But a few clones were better than no clones, in any situation. The Separatists had disabled any form of communication, so he had to rely completely on the Force.  Obi-wan reached out, pushing past all the fear from the people and tried to find any sort of sense of order or anything that felt like it was experienced in battle. But he couldn't find anything at first, and he would be there all day if he tried to search through all of Lemuria. Instead, he took off in the direction that he heard the loudest shouting in. 

When he rounded a corner into a back alley, he saw a group of kids no older than thirteen, fighting with a small group of droids that must have broken off from their main battalion. The droids were trying to aim their blasters, but the kids kept moving around and ducking into holes in the buildings and hitting the droids from behind with heavy-looking rocks. Obi-wan smiled to himself. Their spirit nearly made up for the fact that none of them were trained. 

"Get back!" Obi-wan shouted to the kids. They all readily obliged, once they saw his lightsaber, and Obi-wan cut down the droids before they could aim at him. When he turned back to the kids, they were all staring at him with wide eyes. 

"You're the Jedi!" A boy, no older then ten, exclaimed in Basic. Obi-wan raised his eyebrows and deactivated his lightsaber. 

"Usually. Who's looking for me this time?" 

"The droids! They kept asking for 'the Jedi', but we didn't know what that means. You must be him!" 

"Yes, I am. Was that all the droids said?" 

"Well, yes. What's a Jedi?" The question took Obi-wan off guard. In all the planets he's been too, he's never really had to explain to someone what a Jedi is. At one time, he would have said that they were the peace keepers, but at this point that wasn't quite true, was it? 

"Jedi...Well, it's complicated. We fight to keep the peace." 

"You fight for peace?" A young girl asked, screwing up her noise. Obi-wan shrugged. It was a question he had often asked himself after the war started, and it didn't make much sense to him either.  

"To be fair, we'd rather not." Obi-wan kneeled on one knee so he could look them in the eye. "But I need to know if any of you saw men in white armor with blasters walking around. They would have been fighting those droids." The first boy that spoke translated it for the other kids who couldn't speak Basic. One of the smaller boys nodded and exclaimed something, and took off down the alley. The rest of the kids and Obi-wan followed. The boy led them down the alley, across a street, and up a rickety flight of stairs on the side of a building. When they looked over the edge of the building, they could see the clones and some citizens trying to build a barricade in the middle of one of the main streets. A droid battalion, accompanied by a few attack droids, was firing on them, and it was clear that the clones had run out of ammo. Hardly pausing, Obi-wan jumped down into the street and ignited his lightsaber. Immediately, all fire turned on him and away from the civilians and clones. Slowly, he made his way to the half-finished barricade, and he stood by one of the clones while he deflected the blaster shots. 

"Glad you could join us sir!" The clone shouted at him. 

"Me too!" He shouted back. "What's the situation?" 

"Well, their main mission seems to be capturing you, sir, and this seems to be their main battalion, and they have smaller groups breaking off to go look for you. But once they've gotten word out that you're here, they're all probably going to congregate on this point. We tried to get rid of as many as we could, but we ran out of ammo not long ago." 

"Alright. I want you and your men to get the civilians out of here, and make sure they all stay in their houses. Let them come through the barricade, I have an idea." It was crazy, but it was all he had. Maybe it was his lack of sleep talking, or maybe he really was suicidal, because it was what Anakin would probably call a Bad Idea. 

After making sure the clones and civilians were out of harms way, Obi-wan turned and ran. 

 


	11. Beginning Of The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, sorry folks.

 

Obi-wan ran down the street, deflecting blaster bolts as he went. The droids were marching as fast as they could behind him, but it was significantly slower than how fast he could run. The relatively slow pace gave him time to gather the Force around him. It felt different, somehow. Not  _wrong,_ but  _different._ In any other situation, he would have excused himself to go meditate on it, but as it was, he simply had to move on. 

He knew, from his vague memory of the city map, that all the wide roads like the one he was on led to the center of Lemuria, where the statue was. If he could get to the statue, he could have all the droids focused on him, and he could deal with them by himself without bringing any civilians into danger. He wasn't sure how, exactly, he would deal with them, but he would leave that up to the Force. 

In the back of his mind, he recognized the fact that once Anakin learned of what he did, he would never be trusted on his own again. 

Obi-wan made it to the statue faster than he had expected. He climbed up to the pedestal, so he could look out at the droids that were surrounding him at the edge of the park. They took aim, and the droids in charge raised their arms. 

"Ready?" They said in unison. "Aim!" But before they could get to the last part, Obi-wan lifted up his hands and balled them into fists. The commanding droids followed suit. The rest of the droids, being droids, all paused and looked around. 

Meanwhile, Obi-wan was almost being driven to distraction by the Force. It was coalescing around him now, pulsating and humming, entirely of it's own accord. He could actually feel his body heat rising because of its intensity. His vision was starting to blur at the edges, and his back was beginning to pulsate in time with the Force, begging him to let his wings out. 

The droids were taking aim again, and he acted purely on instinct. He tossed his arms out to the side, releasing the Force as he did so, and everything went white for a couple seconds at the intensity of it all. 

When he opened his eyes, he was on one knee on the ground, as if he had fallen off the statue. The droids were all laying where they had stood. His ears were ringing, but he knew that there hadn't been a noise loud enough to cause it. Instead, he realized, that it wasn't a loud noise, but the lack of noise. For the first time in Obi-wan's life, it was completely silent on the battlefield.

 The Force had gone back to its regular flow, but Obi-wan knew that it hadn't gathered around him like that for no reason. Something must have happened, and he intended to find out what. Of course, he probably had to get back to Anakin and Republic forces first. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-wan saw the citizens coming out of their homes and stores to see what happened. They were all staring at the droids, but mostly him. When he tried to stand up, he realized why. His wings were out, in all their glory. He should have been terrified, from all the conditioning he's received over the years, but he couldn't feel anything over his relief at having his wings out. The Force was practically singing in the rightness of it. They were beautiful in the direct morning sun; the same golden red color as his hair on the inside, and the same dark russet red-brown his hair had been as a teenager on the outside. At the ends, the longer feathers leaned more towards gold, which caught the light perfectly. 

The slowly gathering crowd caught his attention, however. They had dismissed the droids, and they were staring at him in awe. He probably should have made his wings disappear the moment he realized they were out, but even with everyone staring he couldn't bring himself to do it. He tried to take a step forward, and the crowd, as one, took a step back. That was when Obi-wan remembered who they thought he was. A  _hachil_. They probably thought he was there to take someones soul. Quickly, he back tracked and stood back up on the statue's pedestal. 

"Let's get one thing clear." He called out; unfortunately, it had to be in Basic. "I am not here to take anyones soul. No one is dying today, not if I can help. I am here to save this city, and help liberate the people of this planet." Audible relief washed through the crowd, and a few people even cheered. "Now, let's see what we can do about that barricade." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you to everyone who leaves kudos and comments!  
> Also, I did go back and change a few details, mostly just re-wording things and Obi-wans age. I don't think it was a big deal in this chapter, but it might be later on.


	12. The Old And The New

 

He was sitting on the roof of Darall Polorv's house, which had been recently designated as the headquarters for their little rebellion. It had been surprisingly easy to adjust his spatial awareness to include his wings again. If anything, he had never really quite gotten used to walking without his wings. They were achingly familiar, and their mere presence comforted him in a way no words ever had. They were spread out and relaxed at his sides, and they caught the sunlight at just the right angle to make them shine gold. 

 _Focus._ Obi-wan chided himself. He was only up on the roof by himself so that he could focus better, and he needed to focus so he could see if he could establish a connection with Anakin through their old training bond. Back when Anakin had been knighted, instead of simply severing the bond completely, he had put up mental shields around it and let it fade through disuse.  When he had mentioned this to Anakin, however, Anakin had been under the impression that their bond would stay the same; after some explanations, he had agreed with Obi-wan and blocked his end of the bond too. The traditional way was, actually, to sever the bond with the braid, and Obi-wan was nothing if not a traditionalist. But he was all too familiar with the effects a missing bond could cause.

Obi-wan shook his head. His focus hadn't been this bad since he had been a teenager. He took in a deep breath, centered himself, and let it out. He let himself travel to the far reaches of his mind, where his bonds used to be, and for a moment he was worried that it had completely disappeared during the years after Anakin's knighting. But after some more searching he found it; the thin, wispy end of their training bond. It was small and fragile, and not nearly as bright as it had been before he blocked it out. But it would have to do. 

 _Anakin?_ He sent. 

 _Obi-wan!_ Anakin responded a few seconds later.  _Are you alright? What's happened? Are you with the clones? You haven't been captured again, have you?_

_I'm fine. No, I'm not with the clones yet, we were separated in the fighting. As far as I know, they're fine too. And no, I haven't gotten captured **again,**_ _thank you._

_It's not exactly unprecedented, master._ Anakin teased. 

_And it's not exactly common, either. The Separatists sent in a battalion of droids looking for me, but I'm not sure if they wanted to capture me or kill me. I took care of them._

_You took care of an entire battalion? By yourself?_

_Yes, I can handle a lightsaber._

_Master, I wasn't teasing. Thats...Really impressive._ Anakin did sound genuinely impressed, but Obi-wan wasn't sure how to deal with this sudden compliment. 

_Well, the clones did help a little. Anyway, I need to know what's going on outside the wall. All we know is that the entrances are blocked off._

_Right. So the entrances are blocked off with some heavy metal that no one recognizes, and we haven't been able to figure out a way to open them yet. Plus, there are explosives rigged all along the outside of the wall, and we figure if we try to open the doors, they'll blow._

_Interesting._ Normally, Obi-wan would have had more questions, or maybe even a plan, but his attention was so divided he couldn't properly process what Anakin said. His wings were out, now all he had to do was use them for what they were meant for. The urge to fly was so strong his wings might have well been sentient.  _How are the clones on your side? What about Ahsoka?_

_Well, the clones are holding up just fine. They're all worried about their brothers on your side, and we're all worried about you, of course. Ahsoka's doing good too, she even made a few jokes on your expense._

_Of course. I'm glad she's having a good time._ Obi-wan replied dryly. 

_Yeah, she's been in worse._

Obi-wan sighed mentally.  _That worries me. Normal apprentices aren't in combat situations until they're around sixteen, and Qui-gon certainly wouldn't have trusted me to help lead an army._

_She's fine. She passed all the mental healers tests, and she's young anyway. She can spring back._

_But that's the problem. She shouldn't be under this much stress at her age, and even if she somehow managed to come out of this without some sort of PTSD, it would be extremely hard to get her to adjust to normal life. The war started when she was probably about twelve, and she became your padawan when she was fourteen. This is all she's ever known, and that can't be good._

_I guess you're right, but we need her out here. I don't think Master Yoda would have assigned her to me if her help wasn't necessary. But I'll pass on your concerns._

_You do that. By the way, did you feel that disturbance in the Force earlier?_

_Yes! I almost forgot about that. Do you know what it was?_

_No idea, but it helped me defeat the droids. We'll have to find out later, and focus on this barricade._

_Yes, master._

_And keep the clones on alert, but don't do anything to the wall._

_Yes, master._

_It's also probably a good idea to scout around the camp, familiarize the surrounding area._

_Yes, master._

_Keep a watch posted at all times, and it would probably be better if there were two clones on watch instead of just one._

_Yes, master._

_Are you patronizing me?_

_Yes, master._

_Get to work, Anakin._ Obi-wan ordered with a mental huff, and replaced his normal shielding. His wings were still itching to fly, but he knew he would have to stay grounded, especially since Anakin, Ahsoka, and a good portion of the clone army were camped out right outside the city limits. Somehow, he would have to hide his wings from them, but not do it in a way that would rouse a lot of suspicion from the citizens of Lemuria. 

"Jedi!" Darall shouted, throwing open the hatch behind him. "The clones are back. They're asking for you." Obi-wan smiled to himself, but inside he felt his stomach twist. 

"Well then, time to face the music." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's kinda late! I was doing so well too. But school just started again, so updates will be a little farther apart now.


	13. A Study Of Clones

 

The clones were sitting around in the living room when he found them. Darall had gone ahead of him, and now the older man was explaining something to them, and the clones were listening with rapt attention. No one even noticed when Obi-wan leaned against the doorframe. 

"...And they look like mortal men, but they have great wings on their back. They're demons who come to collect the souls of the damned, or to protect us from anyone that would do us harm." Darall was saying. So, he was telling them all about the  _hachil._ "I've heard that they are extremely intelligent and crafty, but they only draw attention to themselves when necessary." There was a slight pause. 

"Look, sir, General Kenobi is a great general and he's practically famous for being really smart, but he's not some sort of demon. And he certainly doesn't have  _wings._ " One of the clones said. 

"Not hardly." Obi-wan drawled. All eyes turned to him, then his wings, and the clones gasped simultaneously. For a solid minute, they all stared at him, gaping, and Obi-wan began feeling a little self-conscious, something he hasn't been since he was a teenager. The last time his wings had been out in the presence of so many people...Well...  _No._ He mentally scolded himself.  _They're clones, the same one's you've been fighting with for years. They're far from low-life thugs hanging out in seedy bars, praying on underage kids-_

"General..." Captain Vexer began. Obi-wan felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in a brief grin. 

"Yes, I know. I've had them since I was born."

"How?"

"I'm not really sure." He shrugged, momentarily relishing the feeling of his wings shifting as he did. "As far as any genetic tests could tell, I'm  _mostly_ human, but the Jedi archives didn't have any templates matching the rest of my DNA."

"But then how come no one's ever seen them before?" 

"I think it's something to do with the Force, but I'm still not sure on all of the details. I can will them to appear or disappear at any time." He stepped further into the room and spread his wings a little. Definitely  _not_ preening, even when he saw the appreciative look in their eyes. The clones stood up and walked around him, examining his wings but not touching them. 

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" One of them asked, and Obi-wan was pretty sure his name was Duster. 

"Of course." 

"What the actual  _fuck_." 

Obi-wan laughed. "Indeed. I apologize for keeping them a secret. But a while ago when I was a teenager, after a mission went, ah,  _south_ ," He mentally winced at his completely unintentional pun. "Because of my wings, the council decided that they would easily compromise my position on missions, especially on undercover ones, and ever since then I've had to keep them hidden."

"Wait, sir, General Skywalker does know about them, right?" 

"No, he doesn't. Most people I've met since then don't. And it  _must_ stay that way. I'm afraid I have to ask all of you to keep this an absolute secret, not to tell any other clones, Commander Tano, or General Skywalker. Am I clear?" 

"Sir, yes sir!" They exclaimed in unison, saluting. 

"Sir, I hate to bring it up, but a lot of clone lives could be saved if we had a winged general." Vexer said slowly. Obi-wan sighed and sat down, motioning for the others to do the same. Darall had left the room at some point, although Obi-wan wasn't sure what he could be doing. Most likely something to do with food. "Surely you're known enough now that undercover missions are near impossible?" 

"Well, you would think, wouldn't you? I agree that the nature of my missions has changed drastically since I was seventeen, but the truth is that during a war, a pair of wings just isn't practical. I would become a bigger threat, therefore a bigger target, and put more lives in danger. I would not only become a bigger target on the battlefield, but I would sacrifice my own personal safety on Inner Core, Republic worlds." Obi-wan suppressed a shudder and glanced out the window. "You would be surprised to know what people there would do for a pair of wings." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late!! I meant to have this up on Friday but then I somehow became social???? At any rate I figured I might as well just post this so you guys have something.


	14. The Aircraft

 

Darall was kind enough to let them set up a make-shift command center in his dinning room. They cleared away anything on the table, then laid down some papers and drew a vague representation of the city. They were able to add all the main roads and some more details thanks to Darall, but it wasn't even close to an exact replica. They were just debating where they thought the control center for all the explosives was when it happened. There was a loud hum from outside, like an aircraft was passing over head. Only it stayed, and seemed to come from the center Obi-wan had destroyed the droids in. 

"Don't!" Obi-wan exclaimed when the clones made to go outside. "Give me a few seconds." Quickly, he sought out his bond with Anakin. 

 _Anakin!_ He sent hurriedly. 

_I see it. It doesn't look like any aircraft I've seen, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is._

_Can you see any weapons on it?_

_Well, not yet-_

_Okay._ He quickly rebuilt his shields against Anakin's protests and nodded to the clones. They shoved on their helmets and rushed out, Obi-wan following. 

It was an aircraft, of sorts. It was blue, round, and domed, with round thrusters on the bottom. There were some obvious modifications to it on the sides where some guns had been added, and while they looked like a rushed job Obi-wan had no doubt that they were functional. It was eerily familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen it before. It was hovering above the statue in the middle of the park, and it was rotating slowly as it hovered, but it wasn't doing anything else. 

"General?" Captain Vexer asked. "What are your orders?" Obi-wan paused, then reached out with the Force. There were droids and a single person inside, even though there was no windows for the pilot to see out of. The person was radiating anger and anxiousness, and... 

"Get back!" Obi-wan shouted, just as the guns fixed on him. He lunged to the side, narrowly missing the blast. 

 _Anakin!_ He shouted across the bond even as he rolled to a stop.  _There is a person in that aircraft, and I don't recognize their Force-signature, but they are defiantly a Dark Side user. There are weapons on that thing, and I don't know how but it's aiming for me._ He blocked out the bond before Anakin could respond. 

"General!" One of the clones shouted. 

"Get everyone back! Make sure all the civilians are safe. That thing is aiming for me, so do not attack it and draw it's attention." 

"Sir!" Another clone protested. 

"I am ordering you to not attack that aircraft!" Obi-wan nearly roared. "Let me deal with it!" He admired clones for their unfailing habit of putting others before themselves, especially when it came to Jedi, but it was beginning to annoy him to no end when they insisted that he stay back and let them handle the fighting. He knew that they only wanted to keep him alive, but sometimes he felt like they either thought he was incompetent with a lightsaber, or he felt like he wasn't pulling his weight in this war. It was really bad on the nights when he was alone in his quarters and drained from whatever he had been doing that day, and he felt twice his age and he couldn't stop all the thoughts that bounced around inside his head.

"Sir, yes sir!" The clones coursed, although they didn't sound too happy about it. He had an idea, sort of. Doing it twice in one day would be a new record for him.

The second the dust settled and he was sure the aircraft was focused on him, Obi-wan took off running. 

 


	15. The Lost Initiate

 

Obi-wan ran with Force-enhanced speed through the streets, occasionally glancing back to make sure the aircraft was still following him. It never faltered, and Obi-wan could sense who ever was in it getting more and more angry. Eventually, he made it to the wall, and he turned to face the aircraft. It paused, as if trying to decide what to do, then its guns raised and it fired. 

The first two blasts missed him by no more than a foot, thank Force, and they raised enough dust that the machine couldn't see where he was unless is was using heat sensors. Given how rapid the next blasts came, and how they still missed him, they weren't. The wall was slowly crumbling behind him, and he quickly lowered his shielding just enough. 

_Anakin! The wall is about to fall down! Get Ahsoka and help me contain the explosion!_

_What in Force's name are you doing, Obi-wan?_

_It's not actually me, if that helps._ He mentally snorted and raised his hands, gathering the Force around him and spreading it out on either side of the wall. Within a few moments, he felt Anakin's and Ahsoka's Force presence join him on the other side of the city. The aircraft was still firing, but the dust that was gathering was making it hard to breathe. 

 _Anakin_. He sent, taking a deep breath and holding it.  _I'm about to knock over the wall. Be ready._

_Obi-wan Kenobi, don't you **dare**. _

He used as much of the Force as he could without taking away from his shields over the wall, and he pushed backwards. The wall groaned audibly, then a large section of it collapsed behind him. Obi-wan tensed and strengthened his shields, but nothing happened. He backed up some more; the wall was definitely gone, but none of the explosives had gone off. He was outside the city limits now, and he would see the rubble all around him and the explosives attached to the remaining parts of the wall. 

_What's happened? I thought you were going to push down the wall._

_I did._

_What?_

_I already pushed part of it down. I'm outside city limits now, but nothing's happened._

Suddenly, the aircraft reasserted itself by firing again. The blast was close enough that it knocked him off his feet and pushed him on his back. His wings extended on instinct, but he was out of practice  and caught by surprise, so they got scratched and bruised painfully when he landed. The aircraft hovered up and over the wall, and Obi-wan took off again. This time, he didn't have a plan, and he was hoping that he would come up with one as he ran. 

The city of Lemuria was surrounded by a dense forest, fortunately, meaning the aircraft had to try and follow him above the trees. Unfortunately, his wings kept getting snagged on low branches and accidentally hitting tree trunks when he passed too close to a tree. He tried to remember how he had run through places before, but he realized that it used to be easier because his wings had been smaller, and he has never had to run through dense spaces with his current-sized wings before. 

Obi-wan burst through the forest and skidded to a halt. There was stretch of land at the forest line that was about fifteen yards long that immediately dropped off into a wide, deep ravine. The aircraft caught up with him, and Obi-wan ignited his lightsaber. Instead of firing, however, it began lowering itself down in a landing sequence. Just as it touched ground, a section of the outer wall seemingly peeled away. Suddenly, Obi-wan remembered where he had seen one before. When he had last been on the planet, after he had captured Halcard, King Iac had taken Obi-wan and Qui-gon in his personal transport, the same model and possibly the same ship that had landed in front of him, to the landing pad where their starship was. The doors that peeled away to the side had been unique to Senda IV. He distinctly remembered it, however, because Qui-gon had complemented the design and uniqueness, and it had been one of the few genuine compliments Obi-wan had ever heard his master give a politician. 

He filed that information away for later and focused on the hooded figure walking down the ramp. It was a man, from what Obi-wan could tell, and if he was taller than Obi-wan, it was only by a tiny bit. 

"It's been a long time, Kenobi." The figure rasped. He straightened, revealing pale, human features with pale blue eyes and almost white hair. He looked to be about Obi-wan's age, but if not then he was definitely older than Anakin. Obi-wan raised an eyebrow. 

"My apologies. I can't seem to remember where we've met before." 

"Oh, you remember alright." He cocked his head to the side slightly, his voice coming out stronger now. It was deep and sharp, with an undercurrent of hardness that actually did sound familiar. 

"You'll have to help me. Nothing is coming to mind." Obi-wan's eyes narrowed. 

"Oh no, you remember. I can see it in your eyes." The man grinned. Obi-wan suddenly felt like a man out of time. He knew that grin, but he also knew it was impossible for the man in front of him to be standing there. A coldness washed over his bones and settled in the pit of his stomach.

"That is not possible." He muttered. The man's grin broadened, and he ignited a red lightsaber.

"Oh, but it is." They began circling each other. "I'll admit I didn't recognize you when I first saw you either,  _Oafy-wan._ " 

"You're supposed to be dead." Obi-wan let the name-calling go for now. "I saw your body; you broke your neck. The Healers said so." 

"What can I say? I've always been better than you." 

"You  _died._ You fell from the waterfall in the Room of a Thousand Fountains and you  _died_. That is not something you can just walk away from, no matter how talented you are." Obi-wan shook his head in disbelief. "I was put on trial for your murder!" 

"Can you imagine if you were found guilty?" He laughed, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. 

"I was thirteen years old!"

"And so was I!" He roared. "I was thirteen, and the Jedi Order let me down! I was talented and smart, and I was the perfect candidate to become a padawan. But no; you were Chosen instead!"

"The Jedi Order didn't let you down. You did that to yourself, Bruck Chun." 

 


	16. The Cave

 

Bruck lunged forward, swinging his lightsaber, but Obi-wan easily ducked and sidestepped. He could feel Anakin probing at his shields and echo of worry behind it that must have been Ahsoka. 

_Obi-wan!_ Anakin exclaimed when he lowered his shields.  _Where are you? What's going on? What happened to that aircraft?_

_Oh, I'm a good run's length outside of the city wall. Just catching up with an old age mate of mine._

_This is no time for chitchat!_

Bruck chose that moment to attack again, and this time Obi-wan found himself locked in a fight. As Initiates, they had both been on par with each other physically, but when the lightsaber Forms had come out Obi-wan had completely fallen behind. Now, Bruck had the Dark Side with him, and that was making his movements more deadly. But the same thing that was giving him speed and power was costing him accuracy and the ability to sense what move Obi-wan was going to make next. 

_This is less chitchat more interrogation with lightsabers._

_What? Who is this 'old age mate'? Have I met them?_

_No. His name is Bruck Chun._

_That doesn't even sound familiar._

_You wouldn't know his name. According to official records and my own memory, he died when we were thirteen._

Obi-wan found himself falling into his original Form IV, Ataru. It was the form he learned and mastered first, and it was the only form he had altered to accommodate his wings. He had begun learning and altering Form III, but he hadn't gotten very far when the Senda IV Mission happened and his wings had been forced into hiding. After Qui-gon had died, Form III had become his go-to, and he had rarely needed to alternate when he had Anakin using the aggressive Form V at his back. 

It felt nice, almost, to be practicing something from his youth. The fact that he was practicing against his childhood adversary only added irony. 

Bruck growled and began moving faster. Obi-wan couldn't tell what form he was using; it seemed like a mix of several, including Forms IV and III. He was certainly using his anger at Obi-wan as his motivator, and he found himself backing towards the edge of the cliff. Bruck knew about Obi-wan's wings (even if he didn't they  _were_ out) so he couldn't think that falling off a cliff would kill him. 

_But,_ Obi-wan thought.  _The last time we met, we were thirteen, and my wings weren't big enough to do much except cool me down. Maybe he still thinks I can't fly?_

Judging from Brucks sudden Force-push, he did. 

Obi-wan tumbled towards the edge of the cliff. He could feel Anakin and Ahsoka coming closer, and on any other occasion he would welcome their help. But now his wings were out, and Bruck surely wouldn't keep quiet if he made them disappear. Another idea popped into his head, and it was no better than the other ones he had come up with that day. 

"You Jedi." Bruck sneered as he walked closer. "You are all nothing but cowards and fools." Obi-wan gave him an impassive look, then threw himself off the cliff. 

He could hear Bruck's enraged shout as he fell, but he ignored it. The wind was whipping at his hair and his clothes, the ground was rushing up to meet him, and he felt more alive than he had in  _years_. 

He had learned to fly when he was eighteen. After that, whenever his wings were aloud out, it had become a bad habit for him to jump off tall things. Trees, buildings, mountains,  _cliffs._ As long as the drop was big and no one was looking, he would do it, not matter what was at the bottom or what Qui-gon said. He hadn't been able to do so since he got Anakin as his padawan. 

Obi-wan used the Force to land safely. He got the feeling that if he had used his wings, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself and he would have started flying up and away. The ground was grey and rocky, a sharp contrast to the lush green forest he had just come from. There were several cave openings on the cliff face, ranging in width from the size of his hand to the size of a house. The largest one had a strange Force presence, pulling him in to it. Inside, the cave was made of black stone, but it wasn't dark. There was some unidentifiable light source coming from farther down the cave, so Obi-wan followed. 

It was longer than he had originally thought. He wouldn't have been surprised if it went all the way back to Lemuria. The cave narrowed, so he felt more like he was walking in a tunnel, but it never got claustrophobic. The light source didn't get brighter as he got closer, but it never wavered, and the Force became thicker, almost tangible.

Suddenly, it widened dramatically into a huge cavern. Obi-wan paused and stared in amazement. The cavern wasn't as big as the Jedi entrance hall, but it could have housed at least twenty council chambers. At the far end was a perfectly round pool of water, which the Force was pulling him towards. He walked forward, as if in a trance; he had never seen anything like it before. The source of light seemed to be coming from above the water, but the roof was jagged so he couldn't see anything. 

When he got to the waters edge, he took off the plastoid armor on his forearms and peeled off his robes and tunics. He dropped them into a pile, along with his utility belt and lightsaber. He had a feeling he wouldn't be needing them. Obi-wan continued walking, but instead of into the water, the Force slid under his feet and allowed him to walk on top of it. He smiled to himself. The light blues and greens of his tattoos clashed with the dark surface of the water, making the black ring of Ancient Stewjoni letters around his wrists stand out. The Jedi Order was where he belonged, but Stewjon was his home, and nothing could change that. He was glad he had even a small piece of his culture with him. 

Obi-wan looked up, and he was reminded of everyone he had lost. His master, his  _friends._ So much had been taken from him, and no matter what he or the Jedi Order said, you could never really accept and move on from losses like that. But he didn't remember the sad parts of loss; instead he remembered all the good memories he had with his late master and friends. He remembered all the sarcastic comments, all the missions, all the joking, all the joys, all the triumphs. 

He smiled and closed his eyes. Truth be told, he couldn't give a damn about the Separatists. If some planets wanted to leave the Republic and start their own government, who was he to argue? It wasn't even like his home planet had joined the Separatists; Stewjon had remained consistently silent and neutral during the war. But it was the Sith he cared about; the Dark Side had caused so many Jedi to Fall ( _Dooku, Xanatos, Bruck Chun, **Force** even Quinlan Vos came close a couple times) _and it had been a Sith that started the so-called Clone Wars, and a Sith had killed Qui-gon. Obi-wan didn't think he could forgive them for that, but at this point he would give anything just so the fighting would  _stop._

Suddenly, he fell down and the water engulfed him.

 


	17. Padawans To The Rescue

 

Obi-wan could swim, with and without his wings, but something was holding him down. He struggled against it, but there didn't seem to be a physical source. The invisible force kept pulling him further down into the surprisingly warm water, and he kept trying to fight. The force kept tightening it's grip on his neck and around his rib cage, causing his chest to burn in more ways than one. His wings were waterlogged, slow, and heavy, and his oxygen was quickly running out. He tried contacting Anakin, but black spots were already dancing in front of his eyes, so the only thing he could get across was a strong sense of alarm. The last conscious decision he made was to retract his wings, but it was different somehow. It was much slower; he could feel the Force gather around and inside his wings, pulling and shrinking the tendons and muscles and feathers, gathering them closer towards his back, until the very atoms in the skin on his back screamed as they were rearranged and room was made for his wings. 

After that, Obi-wan blacked out. 

 

 

* * *

 

When he came to, someone was pushing up sharply against his chest with the sense of someone who's never done it on a real person. Their hand was too low and they weren't pushing hard enough. Instead of focusing on their poor technique, Obi-wan rolled to his side and coughed up all the water he had inhaled. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his head still felt thick and waterlogged. 

"Master Obi-wan!" A female voice exclaimed somewhere to his right. 

"Obi-wan!" Anakins unmistakable voiced shouted to his left. They gave him a few seconds to get all the water out of his lungs and get his breathing under control. During that time, he became increasingly aware that he was half naked, dripping water in front of Anakin  _and_ Ahsoka. In the back of his mind, he lamented about how inappropriate and uncivilized that was, but they didn't give him any more time. Anakin rolled him back over and began checking him for injuries. 

"How does your head feel? Can you breathe okay now? I've called a med crew, they've landed outside this cave. We just have to get you out there. Ahsoka, get his things from over there." Anakin didn't even pause in between his sentences, as usual. 

"I'm fine, Anakin." Obi-wan tried to move away from his former apprentice, but Anakin held him in place. "I can breathe fine now, thank you, and I'm sure a med crew is unnecessary." Anakin sat back and stared at him with an expression caught between frustrated and resigned. 

"Dammit!" He finally snapped, looking to Ahsoka, who had come back with Obi-wans tunics and belt. Obi-wan raised an eyebrow. "He has a concussion." 

"What? Are you sure?" Ahsoka asked. 

"I don't even know what language that was." Anakin stated, making Obi-wan raised his other eyebrow. "And I don't think Obi-wan even knows he just spoke in a different language." 

"I can hear just fine." He retorted. "And I'm right here." 

"Aha!" Anakin jabbed a finger in his face. "I knew you spoke Huttese!" Indignant, Obi-wan tried to stand on his own, but Anakin quickly grabbed his closest arm and slung it over his shoulders. Obi-wan tried to argue again, but he couldn't get anything out past the sudden spike of pain in his ribs. 

"But only you, master," Anakin continued. "Could possibly get a concussion from almost drowning." Obi-wan snorted. On his other side, Ahsoka lifted up his arm and slung it over her shoulders, supporting him and carrying his things at the same time. He shot her a mildly offended look, but she just grinned at him.  _Like master like padawan._ He thought only slightly begrudgingly. She was dripping wet too, he noticed, but Anakin was mostly dry.  _Couldn't even save his old master himself._ Obi-wan huffed silently.  _Had to send in his...Sixteen year old...Padawan...Is Ahsoka_ _sixteen? Or is she seventeen? She can't be fifteen, can she?_

All things considered, he probably did have a concussion, even without the language-hoping, but he couldn't remember enough to pin point what he had hit his head on. The black spots in front of his eyes were back, and he was so tired he could barely walk. His head got heavier, and heavier, and before he knew it he everything went black. 

 


	18. Concussion Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me if I get my medical facts wrong! I'm just going off what I think I remember from movies.

 

When he woke up, Obi-wan slowly found himself in the familiar white-wash room of the healers. Without looking, he could feel the I.V. in his left arm, the bandages on his chest and head, the heart monitor sensors stuck to his chest, and the scratch of the blankets under his bare arms. He appeared to be on  _The_ _Negotiator,_ but there was no soft hum in the air or the faintest vibration in the floor and walls that signaled the engines were on and the ship was moving. 

"Obi-wan?" Someone asked from his his side, and there was the sound of shifting fabric. Obi-wan blinked to clear his vision and turned his head and saw Anakin sitting on a chair next to his bed. 

"Obi-wan." Anakin repeated. "Hey, how're you feeling?" 

"Alright." He rasped. "What happened?" 

"You almost drowned, remember?" Anakin leaned back in his chair and his tone became more berating, like almost every time Obi-wan somehow landed himself in the healers care. "You got a concussion, somehow, and Ahsoka and I were carrying you back down the tunnel when you passed out. Speaking of Ahsoka, she's gonna want to know you're awake." He glanced up slightly and his eyes got a glazed over, far-away look in them that meant he was contacting her through their training bond. 

"How long am I in here for?" Obi-wan asked once his eyes came back into focus. 

"You make it sound like a prison sentence." Anakin chuckled, standing up. "Let me get your healer." He stuck his head out the door. A second later, he stepped back in and a familiar face entered behind him. 

"Bant!" Obi-wan smiled at one of his oldest friends. "It's so good to see you!" She smiled back at him. 

"And it's good to see you too, Obi-wan. Although, not in these conditions." Bant went over to his heart monitor and checked his vitals just as Ahsoka darted in. She was no longer dripping wet, so she must have changed; at least, Obi-wan hoped she changed and he hadn't been out that long. 

"Master Obi-wan! You're okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Ahsoka." 

"Well," Bant interrupted. "We're still not sure yet. You had a pretty bad concussion. Do you remember what you hit your head on?"

"No. I don't remember much." He lied. "It all gets blurry after I walked into the cave." 

"Hmm." She hummed thoughtfully and picked up a datapad. "You know what that means." It took him a few seconds. 

"Oh." He sighed in resignation. "Fine, lets get it over with." It was standard procedure to ask a patient with a concussion several questions that they should know off the top of their head. Apparently, it was a way to see if they still had a concussion. 

"What's your name?" 

"Obi-wan Kenobi." 

"Where were you born?" 

"Stewjon." 

"How old are you?" 

"Thirty-five standard years." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ahsoka quickly hide her surprise.  _I don't look that old, do I?_ But he was more bemused than offended. He shot her a quick grin; she ducked her head in embarrassment. 

"Occupation?"

"Jedi Master." 

"Huh, that's weird." Bant muttered under her breath. "I'm just checking your answers against the ones you gave last time. The last time you had a concussion, you were 28 and still a knight." 

"Why is that weird?" Now he was a little offended. 

"It feels like you're always in the healers for something." 

"I am not always in the healers-"

"Obi-wan, you were in the healers two weeks ago for a dislocated shoulder and a blaster burns." Anakin interrupted unnecessarily. "And the week before that-"

"Alright, Anakin, I know all of my recent injuries. Lets just continue, please." Bant and Anakin laughed. 

"Who was your master?"

"Qui-gon Jinn."

"Your grand master?" 

"Dooku." He answered with only a hint of bitterness. Both Anakin and Ahsoka looked at him in surprise.  _Story for another time, then._

"Your grand master's first grand padawan?" 

He paused. "Wait. That's a new question...." He closed his eyes in thought. "Feemor. If I remember correctly, Qui-gon was Dooku's first padawan, and Feemor was Qui-gon's first padawan." 

"Correct." Bant scratched something on her datapad. "Well, you passed the test, so now-"

" _Eerin!_ " Someone shouted from down the hallway. " _Master Eerin!_ " Bant dropped the datapad and rushed out of the room. She quickly began barking orders, but Obi-wan couldn't hear what they were. 

"Anakin-"

"On it." He stood up, strode over to the door and stepped out. Obi-wan was left alone with Ahsoka.

"So." She began awkwardly. "Was Dooku really your grand master?"

"Yes. Him and Master Qui-gon weren't very close by the time I became a padawan, so I only met him a couple times before he left the Order. He seemed...Cold. Even back then. But he was much less violent, and from what I gathered he preferred to stay in the shadows." He fell into a brooding silence, momentarily caught up in his few memories of Jedi Master Dooku. 

"And the tattoos?" She prompted, changing the subject. He smiled. 

"Stewjoni. The letters are the ancient battle cry of Stewjon, but if I told you what it was we'd have to fight to the death." She blanched, and when she looked up at his face she got even paler. 

"I'm kidding, Ahsoka." He grinned. She let out a long breath and slumped in her chair. "Despite what Anakin may say about me, I do sometimes have a sense of humor." 

"A very convincing sense of humor." She corrected. He shrugged, but before he could say anything else Anakin came back into the room. He looked pale and shaken, and he held out a hand in between him and Obi-wan, as if Obi-wan was an animal that might bolt. 

"Obi-wan, whatever happens, stay in that bed. Don't move." He ordered. 

"Anakin, what's wrong? What's going on outside?" 

"They found someone in the woods just outside Lemuria, unconscious, and I couldn't tell who it was at first so I tried to get a better view-" He took a large breath. "And at first I thought I was seeing things and when I got a little closer I couldn't believe it-"

"Anakin, spit it out."

"Master." Anakin looked him in the eye. "It's Reeft. They found Reeft. He's alive." 

 

 


	19. The Forgotten Bond

 

"Anakin." Obi-wan said in a warning tone. His heart rate monitor sped up, making a loud, irritating sound, but he didn't care. 

"I'm being serious." He argued. "I wouldn't joke about something like this Obi-wan." He stared into his friends face, and Obi-wan knew he wasn't lying. 

"I need to see him." He stated. He tried to get up, but Anakin quickly pushed him back down. " _Anakin-_ "

"No, master. You've been injured, and Reeft is unconscious, and you trying to see him would only make things worse for probably everyone." Anakin ran his mechanical hand through his hair. "Look, I don't think he was in critical condition, maybe I can go bug Master Eerin for some answers." He ducked back out of the room. Obi-wan sank back into the bed, highly disturbed, concerned, and shocked. 

"Master Obi-wan?" Ahsoka asked, making him remember her presence. "Who's Reeft?" 

"He was a friend of mine." He answered, still brooding. "We met when we were still in the creche, and we remained close through our apprenticeships and after we were both knighted. But a few years ago he was killed, at the first Battle of Geonosis." 

"Oh. I'm sorry." He acknowledged her sympathy with a small smile, but he stayed silent for a few moments. 

"I was the one to light his pyre." He mused quietly. He knew that he shouldn't be affected by his death and sudden reappearance as he was, being a Jedi, but Reeft had been important to him, and Obi-wan found he was having a hard time centering himself. Ahsoka moved, and a second later he felt her hand on his. He looked up, startled. 

"As Jedi, we cannot form attachments, but as flesh and blood people, attachments are inevitable." She said sagely. "It is okay to mourn your friend, master. I always thought that that part of the Code came about because the old Jedi didn't want anyone going crazy and hurting people or not doing their jobs after an argument or something." 

"Thank you, Ahsoka." Obi-Wan smiled at her. "I think that you're already on your way to becoming a strong and wise Jedi." She beamed. Just then, Anakin rushed back in, looking harried, with Bant following. 

"-And there certainly won't be a next time!" She was saying, before she turned her glare onto Obi-wan. "And you, Kenobi, have been a terrible influence on your padawan, former or otherwise."

"What did he do now?"

"Hey!" Anakin interjected, indignant. Obi-wan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you telling me you didn't do anything?" 

 "Well, it's not _always_ me." 

"Oh,  _that_ takes me back." Obi-wan mentally rolled his eyes. "How is he, Bant?" 

"How's who? Anakin?" 

"Reeft." Her face fell and the mood immediately dropped back into it's former tension. "Is it really him?" 

"As far as we can tell." She said softly. "All the blood tests came back claiming that it was without a doubt Knight Reeft, but..." She trailed off, pain in her eyes, and Obi-wan mentally berated himself. They hadn't just been his friends; all of them had grown up together, and Reeft was Bant's friend too. "Everyone knew someone who was lost on Geonosis," She continued. "And I helped fill out the death certificates. I  _saw_ his body, and I remember very clearly entering all his wounds in the database, and his time of death, and..." She stopped herself and closed her eyes. 

"Bant." Obi-wan said gently. "I think it has something to do with the planet. Reeft isn't the first one who's come back from the dead." He told her the summed up version of his encounter with Bruck Chun. 

"Unbelievable." She murmured. "But he was older?"

"He looked our age."

"Reeft looked exactly the same as he did when he died. Maybe there's a Force anomaly here, or-"

Obi-wan missed what she said next when he felt a small spark in the back of his awareness. It was warm and achingly familiar, but it was coming from a place where he hadn't felt anything since... 

Suddenly, his mind was filled with overwhelming sensations and brightness. Pain shot through his head; it felt like someone had exposed him to too much light without letting his eyes adjust, only tenfold. His body arched off the bed, and distantly he could hear his heart rate monitor skyrocket and concerned shouting. Bant said something about training bonds, but he couldn't be sure what it was. Everything was blurring together; his vision became one over-bright blur, his hearing fading into a loud buzz, and his was filled with a sense of urgency.  _Something was happening, something urgent, something deadly, something Dark..._

It was then, just when he was beginning to fade back into unconsciousness and his mental shielding slammed back up, that he heard the one voice he thought he would never hear again. 

_Obi-wan?_

 

 


	20. Return Of The Old Master

 

When he woke up again, Obi-wan was alone. It was significantly darker, so it must have been the planets night cycle, and it was quiet outside in the hallway. He closed his eyes, but instead of falling asleep, he tentatively approached the place where the pain had come from earlier. Behind his shields was a strong, healthy, warm, active bond. A  _training_ bond no less.  _I'm a Jedi Master without a padawan._ He thought, even as the painful truth began creeping up on him. _I don't have any active training bonds_ _._

_But I used to._

Slowly, he lowered his shields. The bond was almost overwhelming in its brightness, especially since he had gotten used to solitude in his head after Anakin's Knighting ceremony. He gently approached it and sent a brief inquiry, a mental question mark, along it. 

 _Obi-wan._ Came the immediate reply.  _Where are you? Where am I? What happened to the Sith?_ He couldn't respond. Tears were gathering in his eyes and he was having trouble breathing.  _Obi-wan? Are you okay?_ He had forgotten how strong their bond had been. 

 _Master Qui-gon?_ He finally managed. 

_Yes, I'm here, padawan. Although I'm not sure where 'here' is, exactly._

He laughed out loud, and a few tears escaped.  _It's been a long time, maser._

 _How long? What happened? On second thought..._ Obi-wan waited while Qui-gon did something.  _I seem to be in the middle of some sort of war zone._

_Let me guess. Soldiers that appear to be clones in white Mandalorian armor with gold or blue paint._

_Yes. Do you know-_

_Who they're fighting for and against? Yes. They are clones, under the armor, and they're soldiers in... On second thought, this would be easier to explain in person._ There was silence on the other side of the bond.  _Like I said, it's been a long time, master._

_How long exactly?_

_Go to the clones, tell them who you are and demand to speak to Generals Kenobi and Skywalker._

_Anakin is with you? And a general?_

_Oh yes, I trained him, as you asked._ Obi-wan couldn't help the tiniest hint of bitterness in his voice. He had loved having a padawan, and Anakin had become one of his closest friends, but he couldn't help feeling bitter that Qui-gon's last words had been about a boy he had just met, and that he had so readily pushed him towards his Trials so suddenly in order to take another padawan, one who was more powerful, when Obi-wan had literally been kicked out of the Order before he had been taken on as a padawan. 

_Trained? As in you already did?_

_Just turn yourself over to the clones. It will be much easier to explain in person, trust me._ Suddenly, he blinked, and he found his eyelids had become much heavier.  _You'll have to wait anyway. I'm in medbay right now and Bant has me on some strong medication that keeps making me fall asleep._

_Bedbay? What have you done now?_

_Oh, not you too! I'm not always doing something that gets me injured and I'm not always in medbay!_

Obi-wan could hear him laugh over the bond.  _At least some things never change._

 _Unfortunately._ He grumbled in good humor.  _I expect to see you soon, master._

_And I you, padawan._

Obi-wan didn't even want to tell him his correct title. 

 


	21. The Lost Friend

 

Bant was in the room with him when he woke up this time. She was fiddling with his I.V.; hopefully she was taking out the medicine so he could actually stay awake. It was still dark and mostly quiet, so either it was only a few hours later or he had slept all day. He hoped it was the first one. 

"And he finally awakes." Bant grinned down at him. Given her statement, it was the second one. "Feel better?"

"I suppose." He shifted, but instead of a spike of pain form his ribs he only felt sore and stiff. 

"Good. You had two broken ribs along with that concussion. Fortunately, neither of them punctured your lungs, but you also had some serious bruising, like something was trying to squeeze the life out of you." 

Obi-wan just shrugged. "That's probably how I ended up under water." 

"Probably." Bant pulled the I.V. out of his arm. "I'm taking you off any medicine now, but I'm keeping you here until the morning so I can make sure you still get some sleep. He's awake, too."

"Who?"

"Reeft." She smiled. "He woke up. As far as we can tell, it is him, and the last thing he remembers is Geonosis. Doesn't even remember actually dying." 

"Can I speak with him?" 

"Sure. If you can do it by yourself, you can sit up, but I'm not letting you out of bed." She held up a webbed finger when Obi-wan opened his mouth to complain. "No. I would give you a list of reasons why, but I know you'd just ignore me anyway, so I'll leave you with this: if you do not follow my orders,  _again,_ I will message your former padawan and  _his_ padawan and have them come up here and restrain you."

"Of course." He lifted up his hands in mock surrender. The minute she left the room, however, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. His head swam and his vision blurred, but it righted itself after a minute of hard blinking. If he was going to see one of his oldest friends after three years, then he was going to be able to do it standing. 

"Still disobeying the healer's orders, eh, Obi-wan?" Speaking of friends... He looked up and saw Reeft standing in the doorway, looking exactly like he had that day on Geonosis. They hadn't exchanged proper greetings, hadn't had time, with the hundreds of droids and the giant beast hell bent on having Obi-wan for dinner, but they had made eye contact across the arena when the other Jedi had arrived. They had nodded to each other, a brief acknowledgement between friends who already knew what the other would say in greeting anyway. He hadn't known of Reeft's fate until they were on the medical frigate, arranging for Anakin to spend his rehabilitation on Naboo with Padmé, when Bant had walked into the room teary eyed. She had probably wanted to bring him out into the hallway to tell him, but he took one look at her and he knew one of their friends hadn't made it. He had made her tell him, right then, with Anakin using his good hand to give his a supporting squeeze and Padmé shrinking back and looking down sadly. 

"You know me." Obi-wan blurted. Reeft laughed and stepped over. Obi-wan stood and met him halfway. They hugged, tightly, and Obi-wan found himself blinking back tears again. He never thought he would get to see him again, and the last image he had of Reeft is his still, cold body beginning to burn on his pyre. Now, here he was, in the flesh, and no training, Jedi or otherwise, could have prepared him for the sudden influx of emotions. 

"It's good to see you again." He murmured. Reeft tightened his grip. 

"You too. I like your hair cut." 

They talked for what felt like hours. Neither of them mentioned the war; they talked mostly about old childhood stories, and their friends. At one point, however, they did broach the topic of how Reeft was resurrected.

"I don't really remember much." He said. "I was on Geonosis, fighting, then I remember feeling pain in my back, where Bant says I was..." Reeft took a breath. "Killed, but then it gets fuzzy. I felt like I was suffocating-no, more like drowning. I felt like I was drowning, and just when I thought I was going to black out, I woke up."

Obi-wan nodded his head and stroked his beard in thought, but mentally he was going back to when he also felt like he was drowning. Now he knew there was a connection. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ????  
>  I'm not even sure what to say about that ending, I just wanted to keep up my streak of really fast updates. (Plus the day doesn't end until I go to sleep, so it counts)


	22. Return From The Ashes

 

At some point during the night, Reeft left Obi-wan to get his rest. Obi-wan knew he should be sleeping, but he wasn't tired. He had been sleeping for over a day, if he assumed correctly. Instead, he laid down and closed his eyes as if he was going to sleep, but he lulled himself into a meditative trance. He was going to see his former master eventually, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about that. 

On one hand, he was happy that Qui-gon was back. He had missed the old man, he would readily admit, more than a Jedi Master and council member should. Qui-gon had done so much for Obi-wan, even before their training bond had formed. He had brought Obi-wan back from the AgriCorps, and he had come back for him on Melida/daan, even after Obi-wan left the Jedi. Qui-gon was even the first person Obi-wan felt a familiar connection to. Growing up, he knew he came from Stewjon, and he knew 'Kenobi' was the name of one of the ancient clans; Force, he had even visited his birth family several times, which is how he learned that no one in his family is completely human, and that their name roughly translated to 'the winged ones' in Ancient Stewjoni. His many siblings and relatives had been welcoming and friendly, but there was always the underlying dissonance between them. He had the right to the name 'Kenobi' just as they did, but while they were loud, acted on instinct, and a family primarily of warriors, he was quieter, more intellectual, and usually thought things through from every angle, even as a kid. They fought with speed, agility, and brute force. He fought with his words, or if need be, a lightsaber and the Force. They were Stewjoni through and through; he was a Jedi, which was a culture itself. Needless to say, he felt a little isolated around them. (Like usual, he chose to ignore the fact that he had gained more than a little training with them and, mostly as a teenager, he could be coerced into being loud too) But after they had gotten over their original tension and Qui-gon had taken up his responsibilities as a master to a padawan, Obi-wan found himself bonding with him in a way he couldn't with his family. They could talk about his studies, and their missions, and the Force; almost all of which his birth family couldn't understand, since most of them had only gotten an education of the basics. 

Anakin had once said Obi-wan was the closest thing he had to a father. Obi-wan couldn't really say the same about Qui-gon, since he knew his actual father, but Qui-gon came very close.

On the other hand, he was still upset. It was un-Jedi like, but it was there, and festering. In the last days of his life, Qui-gon had readily shoved Obi-wan away from him _in front of the council_ in favor of a more powerful boy, the _Chosen One,_  he had rescued. It was as if their nine years together as master and padawan had meant nothing to him, and that any emotion or affection he had shown Obi-wan had only been polite decorum. He had blamed Anakin, unfairly, at first, but most of his anger had always stayed with Qui-gon. It had been his right, as a master, to recommend his padawan for the Trials, but it was also custom to talk with said padawan before hand. Obi-wan had been twenty-two standard years; while a bit young, it wasn't unprecedented for someone that age to be knighted. On the way back to Naboo, he had meditated, and he came up with the conclusion that he wasn't ready. He still didn't think he had been ready. He certainly hadn't been ready for Qui-gon's death, a rapid and un-ceremonial knighting, and the responsibility of a naive, completely untrained nine-year-old padawan. But it had been Qui-gon's dying words, and even if those words hadn't been about Obi-wan, their many adventures, their undeniable success as a team, or even his regrets at not being able to be present at Obi-wan's Knighting, Obi-wan would carry them out. 

When he came out of his meditation, it was brighter and there were soft sounds of activity out in the hallway. Those must have been what roused him from his trance, because he was still uncertain about his feelings and no closer to any sort of answer. 

Obi-wan stood and stretched. He was still sore, but he was no longer dizzy, and he could deal with a little soreness for a few days. Or however long the mission lasted. He was only wearing his leggings; in place of his tunics, he had bandages wrapped around his upper chest. After a brief look around, he couldn't find the rest of his clothes, which meant that he would have to bug a med droid or some poor padawan. However, after opening the door, he found a padawan, and his clothes, already standing there. 

"Hello Master Obi-wan!" Ahsoka chirped. "Master Anakin told me to bring you these." She held out her arms and grinned brightly at him.  _Too_ brightly. 

"Is everything alright, Ahsoka?" Obi-wan asked suspiciously, as he took his clothing. "Has the mission ended while I've been unconscious?"

"No." Her face fell into a look of exasperation and she rolled her eyes. "I wish. But, uh," her face lit up again. "I'll let you find out when you make it to the command tent." She waved and skipped off down the hallway. He stared at the spot she had occupied, confused, for a few seconds, then closed the door and got dressed. 

When he made it to the landing ramp, he could hear unmistakeable sounds of fighting outside. He sighed. Ahsoka had seemed clean and chirpy, not at all like she had come from a fight, so he guessed that it had been a recent development. Obi-wan ran down the ramp with his lightsaber in hand, and when he reached the line of trees he followed his hearing. There was a battle going on, between the clones and battle droids. 

_Of course._

He ignited his lightsaber and joined the fighting. He was deflecting blaster bolts for a good five minutes before he ran into Cody, who was operating a large gun while giving orders. 

"How are things going, commander?" Obi-wan asked as a greeting. Cody swiveled his helmeted head towards him, gave him what Obi-wan could only assume was a once-over, and seemed to come to the conclusion that his general was in decent health. 

"Alright, general. They just surprised us, is all." Cody shouted back. Obi-wan nodded and went back to deflecting blaster bolts. "General Skywalker and Commander Tano are with the 501st on our right. And, well, we found another Jedi, one who-" He was cut off by a particularly loud explosion. 

"I'll find them myself, shall I?" Obi-wan shouted, already moving. He had a strong feeling he knew who it was already, but it didn't stop him from freezing in his tracts when he spotted them a few minutes later. 

_Qui-gon._

He was cutting down droid after droid, occasionally ducking behind a tree. He was still using Ataru; that had been his favorite form, and he used it consistently, no matter the situation. He was still wearing the same robes as he had when Obi-wan had lit his pyre, his hair still looked the same, and every time he moved he favored his left leg ever so slightly. You wouldn't even be able to see it if you hadn't known it was there. He had been hit with an exploding projectile when Obi-wan had been fifteen, and it had been a while until they were able to get to the healers. All the shrapnel had been removed, but there had been minor tissue damage that meant his right side was now his weak side, and Qui-gon would never walk quite the same. He hadn't, and it was the reason Obi-wan would stand to the right of his master later even though Qui-gon was right-handed. it was an injury that any shapeshifter wouldn't have been able to replicate. In that instant, Obi-wan knew without a doubt that Qui-gon was alive. 

_Master._

Sudden elation made him run a bit faster and duck behind the tree next to his former master. There was no outward acknowledgment, but he knew that Qui-gon had sensed him, just like he could sense Qui-gon. For a moment, he was was swallowed up in the novelty and exhilaration of it; here was a man he knew to be dead, brought back to life by unknown forces, standing and breathing and fighting right next to him. 

A blaster bolt that came too close brought Obi-wan back to the present. He could revel in the situation later; now, he had a battle to win and troops to protect. He stepped out from behind the tree and fell into his usual Soresu, deflecting and hitting battle droids with well-practiced ease. 

"I don't suppose," Qui-gon began, and Obi-wan smiled inwardly when he heard his master's voice out loud for the first time in over a decade. "That you happen to have extra reinforcements?" 

"Not on me, no." He shouted back. He heard Qui-gon snort, but they continued on without further comment. It occurred to Obi-wan that Qui-gon didn't recognize him. He had actually grown an inch since the funeral, and his hair was longer and significantly lighter, and there was always the beard. His main lightsaber form had been Ataru as a padawan, also, so using Soresu probably didn't help his case, and Qui-gon would have recognized him immediately if his wings had been out. But he would have thought that his voice would have given him away; it had stopped changing when he had been eighteen. But then again, knowing Qui-gon, he was probably focused solely on the battle and close to ignoring Obi-wan. 

"I'm actually looking for someone." Qui-gon spoke up again when the droids they were fighting began to dwindle. "General Kenobi. Do you know him?"

"I would think so." He replied, amused. "Then again, we learn new things all the time, don't we?" The last droid fell, and he turned to face Qui-gon. It gave him a sense of deja vu; the last time he had seen that face, he had been dying in his arms, then lying on a pyre.

"His shields are up, so I can't find him on my own, but I would like to speak with him." Qui-gon said earnestly, oblivious. "It's been a long time, and he has some explaining to do." 

"I suppose so." Obi-wan laughed. "I'll admit, the beard would make it hard, but you've always been clever, Master Qui-gon." 

"Excuse me?" His face became a mix between offended and confused. 

"Oh, come on, I can't look that old, can I?" Obi-wan raised his eyebrow, then lowered his shields slightly. Their bond burst forward, and he sent a mix of affection and amusement along it. Qui-gon frowned in confusion, then a second later his eyes lit up. 

"Obi-wan?" 

"Of course, master." Obi-wan smiled. 

"How...?" He shook his head in shock. 

"I'm thirty-five, master. I suppose seeing someone when they're twenty-two and then two days later seeing them as thirteen years older can be shocking, but you should see it from my point of view. " His smile slowly fell and his heart became heavy. "You died. I lit your pyre, master." Watching the man who had trained and raised him for nine years go up in flames had been one of the most, probably  _the_ most painful experience of his life. His pain must have showed on his face, because Qui-gon's eyes softened and mirrored some of the sadness he felt. 

"Obi-wan." He sighed, and pulled him in for a hug. For a split second, Obi-wan froze, because Jedi didn't hug a lot in general, but he quickly returned it and fisted his hands in the back of his masters robes. "I'm so sorry." Qui-gon murmured. 

If only for a little bit, Obi-wan forgot all about his anger and bitterness at Qui-gon and let himself live in the moment. 

 


	23. The New Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! My math class got out 20 minutes early so to celebrate (bc it was statistics) you guys get this chapter a day early!

 

The moment quickly ended, however, when they heard more fighting in the distance. They pulled apart and Obi-wan grinned ruefully up at Qui-gon. 

"Shall we go help them, then?" He asked. 

"But of course." Qui-gon grinned back and they took off towards the battle. It was still in full swing, with the clones of the 501st and 212th firing at the droids and Anakin and Ahsoka leaping into the fray. Qui-gon paused for a second, probably to orientate himself, but Obi-wan had trained the need for that luxury out of himself years ago. He swung his lightsaber, cutting down four battle droids, and successfully gaining the attention of a good dozen or so more. 

His battle instincts kicked in, and all of his focus narrowed down onto his lightsaber and the enemy. His shields had come back up at some point, so he couldn't sense Qui-gon through the Force, but he could sense where he was in the same way one could feel eyes on the back of their neck. They fought back to back, like they used to, but something felt off. Obi-wan found himself reverting back to Ataru several times, and he had to correct himself and switch back to Soresu, which was much more ideal for deflecting blaster bolts. He also found himself following Qui-gon as he cleared away a path, and protecting Qui-gon's back primarily instead of being on the offensive. A little of his old irritation came back. Admittedly, Qui-gon was probably used to fighting this way, with his padawan behind him, but times had changed, and Qui-gon needed to catch up. _Obi-wan_ needed to catch up. Obi-wan was a master himself, no longer a padawan, and he could help end the battle much faster if he wasn't glued to his former master. 

Suddenly, an ion cannon barrel through a group of trees, and Obi-wan saw his chance. He lunged towards the cannon, mowing down the droids in his way. When he reached the cannon, he briefly patted down his belt, but to no avail. He didn't have any charges. Next to him, the cannon was getting ready to fire, and he had to act fast. He slammed his hand down on the side of the metal and reached through it with the Force. It had been years since he last worked with machinery this way; at some point when he was younger, he had deemed it a frivolous use of the Force, and anything he could do that way could and should be done by hand. But he didn't have the time, and when lives were at stake, there was no such thing as frivolous. He ripped apart all the wiring he sensed himself come across, with no care for elegance or precision, hoping that it would be enough. 

Suddenly, a blaster bolt grazed his side, forcing him to suck in a breath and return to the situation behind him. Several droids were advancing on him, with more turning their way. Obi-wan deflected their shots with his lightsaber in one hand, and left the other one on the side of the cannon. He continued dividing his attention until he felt himself come across something large, which meant it was probably important, and he dealt with that the same way he had everything else in the cannon. Violently. Just when he was about to pull away, the cannon shuddered, and Obi-wan darted away quickly, somersaulting over the droids in front of him. They stayed where they were, confused, but they were not fast enough to avoid the explosion. 

Unfortunately, neither was Obi-wan. 

The blast nocked him off his feet, and he landed a couple yards away at the base of a tree. He groaned and shook his head to try and clear the ringing in his ears, When he did, and he finally managed to stand, he could sense something dark moving towards him. He called his lightsaber to him from where it had landed a few feet away, and ignited it the second it was in his hand. 

"Well well well, here he is." A smooth voice said from the shadows. Bruck Chun emerged, his lightsaber also ignited. "The galaxy's hero."

"Hardly." Obi-wan retorted. "But I suppose I'm as good as any Jedi." 

Bruck lunged forward, and they clashed lightsabers again. This time, their fight was longer and much more aggressive. Bruck seemed much angrier, and Obi-wan could only guess he had gotten in trouble for not managing to kill Obi-wan the first time around. As they fought, they didn't pay mind to their surroundings, and they left broken branches and slashed trees and smoldering clumps of grass in their wake. Well, mostly Bruck did, but the trees were fairly close a couple times and Obi-wan always did have a wide swing. 

Eventually, they made it to the cliff again, and Obi-wan was pushed up to it's edge, again. Bruck pointed his lightsaber at him, grinning triumphantly, and Obi-wan lifted up his lightsaber in a defensive move, and their eyes locked. 

Suddenly, they were thirteen again, and they were nothing but a pair of hurt and slighted Initiates. They were fighting in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, training lightsaber against training lightsaber, in a duel that had seemed deadly at the time. It  _had_ been deadly at the time; for over twenty years, Obi-wan thought Bruck had died when he fell. But in the end, those years didn't matter, because they were still fighting, and a small part of them would always be those uncertain and self-conscious children. There were so many 'if only's, that Obi-wan had forced himself not dwell on too much before, but now they were gnawing at his subconscious. 

Obi-wan snapped back to the present. Bruck was still staring, waiting for him to make the first move. Instead of attacking, Obi-wan deactivated his lightsaber. 

"I will not fight you anymore, Bruck." He announced. 

"What?" Bruck sputtered. "Turn on your lightsaber. Fight me. Or are all Jedi cowards?" He sneered. Instead of getting offended, Obi-wan sighed and looked down, a heavy tiredness settling in his bones. 

"I suppose we have been, as of late." Obi-wan admitted, and looked up. "Too cowardly to realize that, however indirectly, we were the cause of this war, and that if only we had recognized and corrected our faults earlier, this whole thing could have been avoided." 

"What?" Bruck said again, lowering his lightsaber and staring at Obi-wan with a dark curiosity. "Are you freely admitting that the Jedi Order is in the wrong?" 

"Yes. I've had a lot of time to meditate on it, and it's not easy to say, but it's true. Dooku lost faith in the Order because he felt like he couldn't accomplish anything positive or right any of our wrongs, and he thought the Senate was using Jedi for their personal gains. Which they were; Force, they still are. I'm a Jedi, but here I am, fighting in a war and calling myself 'general'." 

"This has nothing to do with why you won't fight me."

"I won't fight you because it doesn't matter!" Obi-wan exclaimed. As he spoke, he felt the truth to his words and the astonishment that he hadn't realized it sooner. "None of this matters, Bruck. Jedi, Sith; Light Side, Dark Side. It just doesn't matter. When I was younger, I thought that Sith were inherently bad. But as I got older, I realized that 'bad' is completely arbitrary."

Bruck stepped back in surprise. He continued to stare at Obi-wan, but after a few seconds he deactivated his lightsaber too.

"This is all wrong." Obi-wan continued, but the words were't entirely his. As a padawan and a young knight, he had had a talent for prophecy, but it had gradually tapered off the closer they got to the Clone Wars. This felt uncontrollable, like one of his speaking prophecies, but it was mixed with his own thoughts and feelings. "I even taught it all to my own padawan, and when he tried to argue I refused to listen. Only now do I see that he was right. Jedi claim to be defenders of the peace, but over the years we've let ourselves become tools for the Republic, and the Republic cares much less about peace than we claim to. I've _killed_ people. I've killed people, and I've had to go on with this fighting as if I couldn't feel their Force presence leave their body the second they died. The Jedi have been so caught up in themselves and preserving tradition 'for the good of the Order' that we've completely ignored our own teachings. We say that nothing lasts forever, that time is the only thing that cannot be defeated, yet we've upheld the same Code for thousands of years. I don't think it's occurred to any of us that maybe that rule also applies to the Code. We strive for balance in the Force, and we even have a prophecy about it, but what we don't seem to realize is that in order for there to be balance, there needs to be a Light and a Dark Side. Not just in general, but inside each of us. We've always labeled Dark Side users as such because they primarily acted out on negative emotions. But, again, that's completely arbitrary. We have to know chaos in order to know harmony, and we have to have ignorance in order to gain knowledge." 

"No." Bruck said after a long minute, frustrated. "You can't do this. I've wanted you dead for years. You can't just refuse to fight me and suddenly  _agree_ with me." 

Hope flared in Obi-wan's chest. The Jedi Order was all he knew, and he clung to it so tightly when he was younger because without it he was nothing. Openly admitting that they were wrong, and the Code was wrong, made him feel like a masterless padawan all over again; lost, without guidance, and a little scared. But Bruck's statement made him feel hope for the future, for the first time in a long time, because maybe things could change. He clasped his forearms together and bowed. It was a bow of respect; a bow of equals. After a second, Bruck, still frowning and frustrated, mimicked the action. 

A strange bond formed at the top of that cliff. It wasn't quite friendship, but more of a begrudging camaraderie that meant nothing would be the same.

"I still don't like you." Bruck stated, probably just to ruin the moment. 

 


	24. The Crash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read, guess what! THIS FIC HAS ITS OWN FANART!!! GO CHECK IT OUT SERIOUSLY GUYS!!!! 
> 
>  
> 
> http://temporalsilence.tumblr.com/post/141163637597/winged-obi-sketch

 

They parted ways shortly after. Bruck disappeared into the woods, probably to get back to his aircraft. Obi-wan, meanwhile, headed back to the battle. Hopefully, it was over, and the explosion had caused enough damage that the other three Jedi and the clones were able to finish off any remaining droids without trouble. 

As he walked, he went over his encounter in his head. It didn't make much sense, even to him. Everything he had said about the Jedi and their failing beliefs had been right, but he didn't know why Bruck had so easily agreed with him. From what he remembered, Bruck had been difficult, proud, and stubborn. If the same encounter had occurred when they had been Initiates, Bruck would have scoffed and nocked Obi-wan on his ass. Something must have happened in the last twenty years that changed, what Obi-wan had seen, a basic aspect of Bruck's personality. 

He didn't know what Bruck's excuse was, but he was bone tired. Of course he wanted to make peace with as many enemies as he could so he could minimize the fighting, but maybe the reason he had deactivated his lightsaber in front of an enemy he hadn't made peace with yet was that he was still sleep deprived.  _Maybe I should have gotten some sleep last night._ He though ruefully.  _That trance certainly didn't help._

What he assumed was halfway there, he realized he hadn't been in contact with anyone since the explosion, and he lowered his shields minutely. 

 _Obi-wan._ Came Qui-gon's immediate response. 

 _I'm fine._ He knew that tone, and he knew an argument was coming. 

_What happened?_

_I ran into a Sith, and we fought, but we parted ways on... Different terms._

_What? What does that mean?_

_Honestly? I have no idea._

_You cannot just go off on your own like that-_

_Why not?_ Obi-wan fired back, pausing mid-stride. It took Qui-gon a moment to respond. 

_What if something had happened to you?_

_Like what happened to you?_

There was silence on the other end. He sighed and continued walking. 

_Look, I know that was unnecessary, but like I said before, I'm thirty-five years old. I am not a padawan who needs taking care of._

_I know._ Qui-gon mentally sighed.  _You'll have to give me some time. To me, just yesterday you were._

_Well, I was twenty-two. I may have been a padawan but I hardly needed taking care of._

_Your medical record would state otherwise._ Obi-wan rolled his eyes and huffed.  _But next time you decide to run off and cause an explosion, give me some warning next time. I didn't know what had happened to you._

 _I can't promise anything._ The annoyance and anger was back.  _In fact, in the middle of a battle, I can almost guarantee that I won't give any warnings on split second decisions._

_Why are you angry?_

_Because, despite what you said, you are still treating me like a padawan._

_I need time-_

_Time we do not have._ He scowled.  _This is war. We are literally in a galactic-wide emergency situation. Neither of us can afford to have you take the time you need to adjust to it when we are battling for more than this planet's freedom._

 _We will finish this conversation later._ Then Qui-gon put up his shields and the bond went silent. Obi-wan ground his teeth together; he had forgotten how difficult his former master could be sometimes. He contacted Anakin instead of brooding. 

 _Anakin._ The other man's shields were still up, so he mentally pounded on them.  _Anakin!_

_Obi-wan! You missed all the fun!_

_So it would seem._ His mood lightened. Anakin had that effect on people, even through old training bonds; if he was in a good mood, the people around him were usually in a good mood too. 

_The explosion. That was you?_

_Yes. I didn't mean to actually cause an explosion, I just wanted to stop the cannon from firing._

_Well, it worked. Took care of over half the droids, and none of the clones were hurt._

_Good. Where are you? I'm coming back right now._

_Command tent, in the camp. Where'd you disappear to?_

_It's a long story, I'll tell you all when I get there._

They put up their respective shielding and Obi-wan continued to the camp. He followed the path of destruction he and Bruck had left, then once he reached the battlefield he followed the trail the clones had left when they had arrived. It took him about twenty minutes to reach the camp. When he did, the clones treated him like they normally did, saluting and standing to attention, which he quickly dismissed and told them to stand down. In the command tent, Cody was giving an official report, and Rex, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Qui-gon were standing around the holo-projector. Qui-gon noticed him first, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked down, and frowned in concern. Obi-wan followed his gaze, and realized that he had actually been injured from the blaster bolt that had grazed his side. Blood covered a wide area of the cloth above the wound, and under his tunics the bandages for his ribs were probably coming undone. 

_I thought you said you were fine._

_I didn't realize how big it was._ He admitted.  _Anyway, I am fine._

_Listen, Obi-wan, Knight Kenobi, however you want to be address-_

_Master._ Obi-wan narrowed his eyes and looked up at Qui-gon. 

_Yes?_

_No, you misunderstand. I wasn't addressing you, I was correcting you. Surely Anakin said something. If you want to revert to official titles like children, it's Master Kenobi._

Something flashed in Qui-gon's eyes and over the bond; something akin to pride. Obi-wan turned away from him and back to the projector just as Anakin noticed him. 

"So you've finally decided to grace us with your presence, eh?" He asked with a grin. Obi-wan straightened. 

"Of course." He replied, walking further into the tent. He took the space between Qui-gon and Ahsoka, the latter of whom grinned at him in greeting. She was covered in grime and sweat, but she seemed to still be in a good mood. They were watching him, he realized. For them, this was the first time he had been in the same room with Qui-gon, and they were waiting for his reactions. 

"Anyway, please continue commander." He motioned to Cody. There was a slight pause, then Cody continued with his report. At some point while he was speaking, Qui-gon shifted minutely closer to Obi-wan, and slipped something in a pocket on his utility belt. He could hardly feel it, so it must've been light, but he had no idea what it could be. 

 _Before I forget, this belongs to you._ Qui-gon muttered over the bond, but he didn't say anything else. 

"Thank you, Cody." Obi-wan said when the commander finished. "I think, in light of recent developments, we should make our attack on the capitol soon."

"Recent developments?" Anakin questioned. "What have you been up to?" Obi-wan told them about his encounter with Bruck. He left out the details about what he said about the Order, because that was a conversation for another time. When he mentioned Bruck's name, Qui-gon stiffened in shock next to him, but he didn't say anything. 

"We didn't reach a friendly conclusion, but it was a vaguely peaceful one. We stopped trying to kill each other, at least." He concluded. "We should make our attack on the capitol as soon as possible, before Bruck has time to reconsider and change his mind." 

"I agree." Rex spoke up for the first time. "Our recent surveillance hasn't turned up with any new information, so we aren't going to learn anything new. We might as well attack soon, before the Separatists attack us again." 

They all agreed and Obi-wan dismissed the clones to get their men ready. Then he excused himself, on the thin lie of going to get his wound checked by Bant. He knew, and the others all knew, that he wouldn't willingly go to the healers for anything that didn't hinder his ability to fight. Well, maybe Qui-gon didn't know, because he didn't think the man was as wise as he had originally believed, but- 

Obi-wan forced those thoughts out of his head. He may be angry with Qui-gon, but that was no excuse to question his wisdom, which didn't have a lot to do with why Obi-wan was angry. He really needed some sleep. Or meditation. Probably both. Suddenly remembering, Obi-wan reached into his utility belt for whatever Qui-gon had given him. He couldn't feel its texture through his gloves, but when he opened his hand his heart jumped into his throat.

It was his padawan braid. After Qui-gon had died, he had, in his grief, refused himself an official knighting ceremony and had cut off his own braid and tucked it under one of Qui-gon's hands before he lit the pyre.  

When he got to his tent, he striped off his armor and outer tunic. The wound itself wasn't actually that bad; it really was just a graze, but the blood stain made it look worse. He sat down on the dirt floor and tried to meditate. 

He hadn't had much success when Anakin walked in a few minutes later. He was quiet, which was unusual, and Obi-wan heard him sit down in front of him. He opened his eyes, and Anakin was already staring at him. 

"Hey." His friend said. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine." Obi-wan answered with a small smile. 

"No you're not." Anakin argued, then he glanced down. "What's that?" Obi-wan looked down too. He was still holding braid in his fist, and he was rubbing the band on the end in between his thumb and forefinger, a habit he thought he had gotten rid of even before his knighting. 

"It's my padawan braid." He explained, opening his hand. "Qui-gon must have had it on him when he, ah, woke up, and he just gave it to me." Neither of them missed the implications of that. If an apprenticeship was healthy and normal, it was customary for the new knight to give their padawan braid to their former master. Obi-wan had never heard of a braid being refused. 

"Can I?" Anakin asked, holding out his hand. Obi-wan raised his eyebrows. "Hey, the last time I saw this you were still wearing it, and you were still taller than me. And I gave you mine." Obi-wan smiled. 

"And I still have it." He said, dropping the long length of hair in Anakin's hand. His apprenticeship had been far from normal, so Obi-wan had fully expected Anakin to keep his braid, or to offer it to Padmé. He almost didn't believe it when, at the end of the ceremony, Anakin had bowed formally in front of him and offered up his severed braid. 

"Red and yellow?" Anakin asked, playing with the two extra bands. "That's piloting and weapons, right? I didn't know that's what you specialized in. I especially didn't expect piloting." On a padawan braid, bands of certain colors are added when the padawan decides what they want to specialize in or what they have a talent for. On Anakin's braid, he had red and blue bands, symbolizing his talent for mechanics and piloting. 

"I know. I, well, it's a long story." Obi-wan rubbed a hand over his face, and smiled tiredly at Anakin. "I suppose there's no real reason to not tell you. When I was a padawan, I was a lot like you are. I loved starships, and I loved flying, and I loved anything to do with either of them. I could fly anything. Garen and I would race each other sometimes, or go out just because. Do you remember when we met?" 

"Of course. You were still a padawan and I was already nine. You and Qui-gon had rescued Padmé and her entourage from the Trade Federation blockade, but you ended up stranded on Naboo. Qui-gon made a bet with Watto that if I won the Boonta Eve Classic, Watto would get the winnings and he would get the hyperdrive he needed and I would get my freedom." Anakin remembered, nodding. 

"Who do you think installed that hyperdrive?" Obi-wan asked, and Anakin's eyebrows rose. Hyperdrives were one of the most complicated parts of a ship, and installing one was no easy feat. "I did, yes. Don't look so surprised. Whenever a ship needed repairs or something installed after that I always let you do it because I know how much you love it. But, when I was twenty-one, I was in a dogfight over Alderaan, with Garen, and our masters were on a separate cruiser trying to get the enemy to surrender, and..."

"Something happened, didn't it?" Anakin asked softly. Obi-wan nodded and closed his eyes.

"I was hit. Directly." He couldn't hold back a visible wince when he remembered the pain of the impact. "My engines and shields failed immediatly, my oxygen supply slowly emptied, and the force of the hit sent me into Alderann's atmosphere. I commed Garen, and I reached Qui-gon over our training bond, but it was all happening so fast, and there was nothing anyone could do. There was nothing  _I_ could do. The blast had hit me at just the right angle that the hatch was jammed, but it wasn't broken, so I couldn't get out. I tried using the Force to slow down the ship, but at that point I was already falling so fast I wouldn't have time to make a significant difference. Then the ship caught fire. My comm was separate from the ship, so it was really the only thing that did work, and Garen once told me that my screams gave him nightmares for weeks. But at that point, I wasn't thinking clearly, and I don't really remember much detail. Only that I was in extreme pain, and it took me about eleven seconds to reach Alderaan's surface." 

"How did you survive?" Anakin asked, horrified. 

"I don't know. Maybe I was able to slow down the ship just enough, or maybe I hit the ground at just the right angle, but I never knew. I blacked out when I crashed, but I broke my right arm, three ribs, got a concussion, and serious third degree burns on my back and arms. That's not even counting all the shrapnel. To this day, I don't even know exactly how much shrapnel hit me, but it was a lot. We had been trying to protect the royal family, which is actually how I met Senator Organa and Queen Breha, who was his fiancé at the time. They let us use their hospital while we waited for Jedi healers to arrive. Fortunately, Alderaan isn't that far from Coruscant, so they were there pretty soon. I....They lost me, twice, when they tried to remove all the shrapnel." 

"What?" 

"I died twice. My heart stopped, I flatlined, I became one with the Force. Twice. The healers were able to bring me back both times, obviously, but the effects it had on my brain were significant, and I was in a coma for three weeks. After that..." Obi-wan sighed sadly. "Flying was never the same. It was two months before I could be in the cockpit of a ship -any ship- and not have a panic attack. It was another three months before I could fly anything. I thought I was healing too slowly, so I convinced myself I was fine when I clearly wasn't, and I forced myself to start flying star fighters again. Qui-gon told me that I should wait, that flying shouldn't be uncomfortable and I should give myself time to get over my trauma and gain confidence in my abilities again, but I didn't listen. And, well, then Naboo happened, and my crash was forgotten."

"Obi-wan, Force, if I had known, I wouldn't have teased you about being scared of flying." Anakin began in a quiet, emotion filled voice. Obi-wan opened his eyes and smiled sadly. 

"When I say flying is for droids, I don't say it to be mean, or because I think flying is beneath me for some reason. I say it because droids can be fixed and repaired, but people can't." 

 


	25. The Vision

 

They talked some more, both carefully avoiding the topic of Qui-gon, but eventually Anakin left for his own tent to get some sleep. Knowing that peaceful meditation would still elude him, Obi-wan turned in as well. He finished undressing until he was only in his leggings, and flopped down on the cot that was about half as comfortable as his bed back in the temple. As a kid and a teenager, it had always taken him a while to fall asleep, but over the years he had gained the ability to fall asleep within a minute. Someone once told him that his insomnia was related to the visions he got in his sleep sometimes, but he couldn't remember what the exact correlation had been. He didn't get many visions anymore, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. He didn't mind getting visions, but when he got them in his sleep they messed with his natural circadian rhythm and he didn't feel very rested in the morning. But they also signified his talent in the Unifying Force, and without them he thought that maybe he wasn't as in tune with the Force as he used to be.

But, of course, Senda IV was a unique planet. As it had proved, anything could happen.

_He was at the bottom of another pool, and the black murk and vegetation were reaching out to him, trying to hold him down. He swam upwards, where he could see a bright ball of white light just past the surface. The vegetation wrapped around his legs and arms, but he kept moving upwards, and they snapped off. As he got higher, the water got clearer, and warmer. When he broke the surface, the air was surprisingly warm, and he felt calm and centered, like he used to after he meditated, before the Clone Wars. He kept rising, however, towards the ball of light, and it got uncomfortably hot. As he got closer, the heat burned the air from his lungs, and he felt his skin start to burn._

_"We will show you what you need to see." Someone-no, several people said just as the scene changed before he could touch the ball._

_He seemed to be floating at the edge of a planet's atmosphere, watching a dogfight. He could see Lemuria in the background, and the Republic's camp, and The Negotiator. The dogfight didn't seem to be very big, only a couple ships on either side, and he hoped that it wasn't because they had lost a lot of pilots. Suddenly, one of the ships was hit from the side, and it started falling down towards the planet. With a jolt, Obi-wan realized it was a Delta-7, a starfighter built exclusively for Jedi._

_"We will show you what you need to see." The voices said again, a little louder._

_This time, he was standing in an unfamiliar room, watching Bruck Chun pace. He looked worried and stressed about something, and he kept running his hands through his hair and muttering to himself._

_"We will show you what you need to see!" The voices shouted, and then he was standing in a very familiar room. The chancellors office. Said man was sitting behind his desk, and Padmé was sitting on one of the chairs talking to him. They both looked as they always did, but judging from the calm and open expressions on their faces, they were discussing more personal things rather than work._

_"We will show you what you need to see!" This time, it was a cacophony of loud noise that surrounded him and made his head throb. The room changed, becoming dark, and the chancellor's desk was replaced with a single large chair. A hooded figure was sitting in it, in all black, and the only thing Obi-wan could see were pale, wrinkled hands. Dooku was a couple of feet away, kneeling, and Obi-wan couldn't hear what he was saying but he knew the hooded figure was Darth Sidious._

_"I will show you what you need to know." A single, gentle, gender-neutral voice said. The vision faded into gray nothingness, and Obi-wan found his voice for the first time._

_"Who are you?" He demanded._

_"I am the Force, Obi-wan Kenobi." The voice said. "I have been with you since the very beginning."_

_Then he was standing in the crèche, watching himself play with other younglings. They couldn't have been older than five or six. He recognized several of his friends, including Bant, and several other knights and masters, including Quinlan Vos and Luminara Unduli._

_The vision changed, and suddenly he was watching one of his first lightsaber classes. They were practicing basic deflection, with the heavy, round helmets he always hated. Master Yoda was walking around, giving them encouragement and corrections._

_Suddenly he was back in one of his strongest memories. He was thirteen, and he had been a padawan for a couple months. He was shouting angrily at Qui-gon, who stood a few feet in front of him and frowning, and Obi-wan threw his lightsaber at Qui-gon's feet. The universal sign for someone quitting. In this case, as Obi-wan watched his younger self denounce his vow, he was quitting the Jedi Order._

_When it changed again, he was still a padawan, around fifteen or sixteen, standing by his master's side. They were giving a report to the council, and they both looked poised and serene, the perfect image of Jedi._

_In the next vision, he was standing in a vaguely familiar hospital room. Padawan Obi-wan was laying in a hospital bed, with an oxygen tube down his throat, bandages on his arms, shoulders, chest, and around his head. But it sent a wave of unease down his spine when he noticed his heart monitor; he was flatlining. The noise it caused filled the room with a loud, shrill alarm, and Qui-gon was sitting to the side of the bed, standing up quickly from a chair. He had an all too familiar expression on his face. It was a mix of shock, pain, and sadness. Obi-wan had worn that expression himself for weeks after Qui-gon had died._

_"I only show you what you need to know." The voice said soothingly. "You are on the right path, Obi-wan. And you are much more important than you give yourself credit for. Have faith in me, but you must also have faith in yourself."_

With a strangled gasp, Obi-wan jolted awake in his cot. 

 

 


	26. Interlude

 

That day, Obi-wan found it hard to focus. His mind kept drifting back to the visions, and the voice, and the meaning behind everything. Fortunately, he spent the morning helping to break camp and not on a battlefield, so no one's life was a risk because of his absent mindedness. One of the main things bugging him was the vision about the dogfight, and the crashing ship. It had been a Jedi starfighter, so only a Jedi could have been piloting it. 

_Anakin._ He sent along the bond, quietly. 

_Yeah?_

_I need you to promise me something, and no matter what happens you have to keep your promise._

_Look, Obi-wan, I don't know if I-_

_Please._ There must have been a desperate tone in his voice, because Anakin paused before agreeing. 

_Okay, fine. If it means that much to you._

_Thank you. Promise me that you won't pilot a Delta-7 over Senda IV._

_What?_

_Just, promise me._

_Fine._ _You have my word; I will not pilot a Delta-7 over Senda IV. Now, why-_

_It's a really long story. In short, I had a vision last night, and you need to stay out of a Delta-7._

_Oh, okay, fair enough. You should've said something._ There was a pause.  _Wait, you had a vision last night?_

_I did. I'm still not sure why, or how I managed to have one here when I haven't had a vision in a few years, but-_

_Master, that's not what I'm worried about. What I am worried about is how much sleep you got last night._

_Anakain-_

_No, master. I remember when you used to get visions when I was a padawan. During the day, it was kinda creepy, because your eyes went all white and you froze and I remember, very clearly, the first time I saw you have a vision and I thought you were being possessed or something. But I could always tell when you had had a vision when you were sleeping. You woke up late, you were tired all day, you meditated a lot, sometimes you went to speak with the council. So, how much sleep did you get last night?_

He sighed. There was no getting out of this one.  _I'm not sure. I haven't had a lot of sleep for this whole mission._

_Obi-wan. You're a Jedi master. By now you have to know that even you need sleep._

_Well I can hardly help it that circumstances kept me up._

_Generally, you can. You have to stop working yourself so hard._

_I am touched by your concern, but you are hardly one to lecture me on taking care of my own health._

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_It means that, first of all, I'm surprised that you haven't been in a speeder crash, with the way you drive._

_Oh please-_

_And second of all, you hardly get more sleep that I do._

_I'm younger than you, I don't need as much sleep._

_No, that means you need more sleep. And I'm not exactly elderly, thank you very much._ Obi-wan rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. Conversations with Anakin were always interesting; you never knew what direction they would go in. 

_Could've fooled me._

_Shut up, Anakin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is short and sweet because I was working on an essay and 100% not playing Star Wars: Battlefront for three and a half hours hahaha what


	27. Reunion Of Friends

 

"Kenobi!" Someone shouted. Obi-wan looked up from where he was finishing up the attack plan with Cody, Rex, and Ahsoka, and looked around. He saw another old friend walking towards him with outstretched arms.

"Garen!" He exclaimed in shock, but he gave him a hug anyway. "What are you doing here?" He asked when they pulled apart. 

"Oh, the council wanted me over here to help out because your ships have broken down and I'm your ride." 

"What?" Obi-wan raised his eyebrows. "Our ships are fine. Garen-"

"You wound me!" Garen put a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "You think that I would lie to the council?"  

"Yes." Obi-wan lowered his voice slightly. "In fact, I've seen you lie to the council. I've sat there and I watched you lie straight to Master Windu." 

"Okay, well," Garen glanced around, and Obi-wan got the hint and turned back to the others. 

"I believe that we have the plan covered. Any questions?" He looked around, but no one said anything. "Good. Dismissed." They all dispersed to go back to their stations, and Ahsoka ave them both a curious look, but then ran off to repeat the briefing to her master, where ever he had found Qui-gon. Obi-wan turned back to Garen. 

"Look, first, you know I wouldn't lie to the council unless I had a good reason." 

"I know." Obi-wan grinned slightly. "There's a reason I never said anything. But why are you really here?" Honestly, he had a pretty good idea of why his old friend was here, but he needed to hear it.

"Reeft." Garen's face fell. "I was on my way back to Coruscant when Bant commed me. She told me they found him alive. Is it...?" Obi-wan nodded and began leading him to  _The Negotiator,_ where Reeft was. 

"I don't know where they found him, or who did, but they brought him into the healers when I was there."

"You were in the healers? What did you do now?" 

"Not again!" Obi-wan sighed in exasperation. "Why does everyone say that?" 

"Because it's usually your own fault you're in the healers." Garen explained with a grin. 

"What, so it's my fault that people attack me?" 

"Well, I mean, you do provoke them." 

"No I don't." Obi-wan frowned. "The media literally calls me 'The Negotiator'. It means I do everything I can not to fight."

"Oh, no, you never say anything." Garen turned to him with a mock pensive look. "You just sort of have that look." 

"That look." He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. 

"I'd say it was the beard but you were alway getting up to shit as a padawan, too." 

"I was better than you, that's for sure." 

"Only better at not getting caught, maybe."

"Maybe that's why I'm on the council and you're not." Obi-wan punched him in the arm, but Garen only laughed. 

"Maybe. But you have to admit, the council hated us as padawans." 

"I don't think so. We were probably the highlight of Master Yoda's week." 

"Oh sure, the troll is probably the only reason you're on the council now." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You're 'The Negotiator'. You tell me." Garen gave him a shit eating grin, and Obi-wan scoffed. "Oh, and I meant to ask. How are your wings?" 

"What?" He glanced around, making sure they were alone. 

"We aren't dealing drugs, Obi-wan. That was one time, and we were seventeen. What I mean is, how long has it been since you've been out flying?" 

"A while." He answered quietly after a minute. "Before the Clone Wars, at least."

"That's a few years. The first time I saw you go without flying for a couple months, you were a jittery mess."

"That was when I went without my wings out for a long period of time. Totally different. Last time I had my wings out was a few days ago, actually."

"Look, Obi-wan." Garen stuck out his arm and made them pause mid-stride. "You're my friend, and I care about your health. I don't want to see you start shaking so bad that you look like you're going through spice withdrawal again."

"It wasn't that bad." Obi-wan rolled his eyes, but he smiled genuinely at his friend. "But I'll head your advice." 

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence. They hadn't seen each other in months; soon, they would ask each other about their respective missions and recent battle injuries. As padawans, after they hadn't seen each other in a couple weeks or even a few days due to some mission, they would talk non stop for a long time. There was always some temple gossip or political drama that one of them had to be caught up on. But now, they were happy to just be in each other's presence. 

When they made it to  _The Negotiator,_ Garen's stride became a little uneven and he started playing with the edge of his tunic. All signs of nervousness. 

"Relax." Obi-wan soothed when they entered the turbolift. "It's still Reeft."

"I know. But it's been like..Three years?" Garen gave him a worried look. "I haven't seen him in three years. I thought he was dead."

"He _was_ dead. But something brought him back to life, and we still don't know what it is." 

At this point, they were walking down the hallway towards Reeft's room. Bant caught their eye and made her way over, and they met in the middle.

"It's good to see you, Garen." She said, smiling.

"You too." He gave her a quick grin. "But Reeft, is he-"

"Here." Bant led them over to his room, and opened it. Obi-wan let Garen enter first, and watched on while they had their reunion.

"You're still so short!" Garen exclaimed, pulling back from their hug. Reeft huffed good-naturedly.

"See that time still hasn't improved your sense of humor, Muln." He replied, grinning. Obi-wan felt his heart swell, and he smiled too. He had thought that the days with the four of them in one room were over. They had been near inseparable as padawans, but then Reeft had died, and the Clones Wars started, and their duty as Jedi got in the way. But by some miracle, him and three of his closest friends were finally together again. 

 


	28. The Falling Starfighter

 

An hour later, they were on their way to the capitol, in about a dozen carriers. The Jedi were all dispersed into different ships, so Obi-wan was alone with his men, and no more questions about his wings or general health. Unfortunately, he had to make sure Qui-gon understood the mission. He didn't trust Ahsoka or Anakin to explain everything accurately.

_Master Qui-gon?_

_Yes, I'm here._

_I just had to make sure you knew how the mission was going to go and what was happening at other parts of the city._

_Yes, I think I have a good grasp of it._

Obi-wan mentally sighed. They were speaking, but they were being too formal with each other. He was surprised that Qui-gon hadn't called him 'Master Kenobi' yet. He could feel Qui-gon's dissonance through the bond, and he was sure he was projecting something similar. 

But it shouldn't be like that. They had been one of the strongest master-padawan teams in the temple, and while they did argue, they had saved each other in a way. Qui-gon had brought Obi-wan back from the AgriCorps and back from Melida/daan, however reluctantly. Qui-gon had been on the brink of self-destruction when they had met, and slowly, somehow, Obi-wan had brought him back into the Light. In the visions he had the night before, he had seen Qui-gon lose all hope when he flatlined, just before the healers came rushing in. Maybe he was being too harsh on him. It had been thirteen years ago, and Qui-gon didn't think he did anything wrong. He could hardly blame him for doing what he thought was for the good of the Order. 

_Look, master, I'm sorry._

_What?_

_I'm sorry I've been so stand-offish the past day or two._

_Thank you, Obi-wan._ There was a brief pause that lasted the length of a heartbeat.  _But, if I may ask, why were you angry with me?_

 _It was sort of latent all these years; I didn't realize how angry I was until I saw you again. But I was angry because you were focusing, again. You have this habit of focusing on one thing and disregarding everything else. Before, it wasn't so bad; you would focus on something, like the mission, and I never really saw that as a bad thing. But then you met Anakin, and you started focusing on him and training him and making him your padawan. And when you focus on something, it gets done; even if that means shoving your current padawan off to his Trials in front of the entire council._ His words came out even, if a bit tired, but even he could hear his own resignation in them. 

_Oh Obi-wan, I didn't realize...I never wanted to hurt you. I thought you were excited for your Trials._

_I was. I was excited in the same way a fifteen year old is excited to become legal drinking age. I was looking forward to it, but I was far from ready._

_You **were** ready-_

_No I wasn't. I wasn't ready, and I knew it. That first year after my knighting was so hard. Master Yoda taught Anakin most of his lessons because I had no idea what I was doing. I had older knights and masters come up to me and tell me that it was a shame that I wasn't still wearing my braid, that my apprenticeship was ruined because you died so early. Anakin probably thought I hated him; I was still in mourning, and you and I both know I distance myself when I'm in a bad mood._

_I'm sorry you suffered, Obi-wan. But you've done so well; I've been here a few days, and I can tell Anakin is a strong and competent knight. I'm proud of you._

His heart swelled at the unexpected compliment.  _Oh. Thank you._

 _How long did it take to convince the council?_ Qui-gon asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

 _Not long. You'd be surprised what the council will agree to when they think you're on the brink of sorrow-induced insanity._   _I took him as my padawan five hours before I cut my braid._ Obi-wan mentally winced at his words. 

_You don't mean after, do you?_

_No. I was, technically, still a padawan myself._

_And your braid? You cut it?_

_Myself, yes. I was, well, having a sort of meltdown, and I cut it off with your lightsaber. I lost mine somewhere in the melting pits in the palace._ He glanced up, and he realized that they were closer to the capitol than he thought.  _We'll have to finish this conversation later, master. We're almost there._

_Of course. I'll see you soon._

 

* * *

 

Taking the capitol was easier than expected, even after Obi-wan's talk with Bruck. The citizens had all barricaded themselves inside, but they made sure that they stayed there for their own protection. It took about an hour to rid the city of the last remaining droids; about two battalions in total, but they were spread all around the city. There was also no one higher ranked than a droid commander, and it seemed Bruck had fled a while ago. They set up another joint command center where the droids had set up theirs; one of the tops floors of a skyscraper. Obi-wan, it seemed, was the last to show up. Cody and Rex were conferring with some other clones, one of whom was Captain Vexer, and Anakin was off to the side explaining something to Qui-gon. 

"General Kenobi!" Cody called, standing up straighter. "Sechel has been secured, sir, and the droids have been wiped out."

"Good work, commander." He said with a small smile, walking fully into the room. "Collaborate with the 212th and set up patrols around the city. Make sure that we are the one's in control. Then we should un-barricade the citizens and ask if any of them need medical help."

"And ask if any doctors are willing to volunteer to help out at our medical tent." Anakin chimed in. "I have a feeling our staff are gonna get overwhelmed."

"Good idea, Anakin." Obi-wan nodded in his direction, then he turned back to the group of clones. "Everyone did well today, but we've only secured the city. The Sith is still planet-side, and so is his army. The planet isn't ours yet." They nodded in understanding, saluted, and he dismissed them.

"Are most battles like this?" Qui-gon asked when Obi-wan turned back around.

"Hardly." He answered with amusement, but it quickly fell when he turned to Anakin and noticed empty space behind him. "Anakin, where's Ahsoka?"

"She's leading a squadron of clones up in the air. The droids had a few fighters on them too, and I would've gone instead but you...Said..." Anakin's face fell, and a horrible feeling settled in the pit of Obi-wan's stomach. "You told me that you had a vision of me crashing a Delta-7. You didn't say anything about Ahsoka, so I thought..."

"Go." Qui-gon ordered Obi-wan, understanding written on his face. Obi-wan turned on the spot and took off running. He pushed past Cody and Rex, who had just re-entered the room, and he ran towards the stairs. The door was locked; without even thinking, he gathered the Force and _shoved_ , knocking it out of its place in the wall, and to the floor. He pounded up two flights of stairs to the roof, and he pushed that door to the floor too. The mid-day Senda IV sun was brighter than the staircase, but he looked around wildly; finally, he spotted the dogfight. More importantly, he spotted a Delta-7 that had already been hit and was beginning to fall towards the planet. Obi-wan ran towards the edge of the roof, his wings unfurling behind him, and he jumped. 

He didn't think about the consequences it would have for him, and he didn't relish the feeling of flying again for the first time in years. He couldn't. All he could focus on was the falling starfighter, and how he would  _not_ let it crash with his grand-padawan inside of it. 

 _Eleven seconds._ Something dark whispered in the back of his mind.  _You only got eleven seconds. What makes you think you can save her?_

He made it to the starfighter in five. Inside, Ahsoka appeared to already be unconscious, and the engines had already caught fire, singeing his wings. But he ignored that, and gathered the Force around him for a third time and lifted up the hatch. Her harness was stuck, so he ripped the stiff fabric apart, and gathered her up in his arms. He took off again, and three seconds later he heard the painfully familiar sound of a starfighter connecting with solid ground. 

"Ahsoka." He muttered when he made his way back to Sechel. "Ahsoka?" Then he noticed the blood gathering on the side of her head, and the unnatural angle of her wrist. 

 _I've got her._ He sent to Anakin.  _But I think she has a concussion. I'm taking her back to The_ _Negotiator, to the healers._

_Obi-wan-_

_I know. She didn't crash; I got to her before that. But it's too crowded in the medical tent we have set up, and I think she needs Jedi healers._

_How did you-_

_Later._  He sent firmly, lifting his shields back up. 

He flew as fast as he could, but the flames had done more damage to his wings than he had thought, and he wouldn't last very long carrying someone. Fortunately, he came within sight of Lemuria; he landed as smoothly and as quickly as he could, and a crowd gathered around within seconds. 

"I need a doctor!" He shouted. Everyone parted respectfully as a stern-looking woman about his age made her way towards him. "I think she has a concussion and a broken wrist." He explained. She glanced at Ahsoka, then motioned for him to follow her, and led him to a near-by building. She shoved the door open, shouted a few commands in the native language to a few people sitting in the living room, and pointed at an empty cot already set up in the opposite room. Obi-wan obliged, setting Ahsoka down as gently as he could, but then he was shoved out of the way by the woman and a few other people. They immediately set to work, but even Obi-wan could tell that they didn't have enough supplies. He back tracked out into the hallway and lifted up his comm. 

"Bant." He said. "It's Ahsoka."

"What's wrong?" She immediately responded. 

"I think she has a concussion, and a broken wrist, but I'm not sure. I'm in Lemuria right now, and one of the local doctors is treating her, but, Bant, they don't even have Bacta!" 

"I'll be there in a few minutes, and I'll bring lots of Bacta. Tell the doctor to send someone to meet me at the western enterance and lead me to where ever you are exactly."

Quickly, he did, and a young boy in his mid-teens dashed out of the house. 

"Hurry, Bant. I don't know how bad she is." 

"I'm coming, Obi-wan." She said, and signed off. He dropped his comm back into his utility belt and leaned against the wall. It wasn't until he felt a gentle hand on one shoulder, and he looked into the worried eyes of Lomya, did he realize he was on the verge of a panic attack. 

"Hello again, Lomya." He sighed, and sank down until he was sitting. He hadn't had a panic attack in years. It hadn't even occurred to him how scared he was; for himself and Ahsoka. For himself, because just seeing the starfighter begin to fall had brought back the old trauma, and he didn't want to loose someone that way. For Ahsoka, because he knew what kind of mental and physical scars a crash like that left, and even if she hadn't actually crashed, he didn't want her to loose her love of piloting like he had. 

" _Hachil._ " She greeted, frowning. "You look terrible. Come with me, we'll get you something for those burns."

"I'll be fine." He argued. "It's Ahsoka I'm worried about." 

"She'll be fine. She's in the hands of one of the finest doctors in Lemuria. You, however, look like you're about to drop." 

"I'll be fine." He repeated weakly. She rolled her eyes and hauled him up. She led him further down the hallway and into a kitchen, where she began rooting around for something. 

"So what happened?" She asked while she looked. 

"She was in a starfighter, in a dogfight, and she was hit. Her ship began falling, and I got to her just in time. But she was already injured, and I burnt my wings when I got her out, so I couldn't get her all the way to our healers." 

"Is she family?"

"No, not really. She's my grand-padawan." Realizing what he said, and Lomya's confused look, he quickly corrected himself. "She's an apprentice to my former apprentice." 

Lomya nodded and slammed down a small glass filled with dark liquid in front of him. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. 

"That's for my burns?"

"No, your nerves." She set down the bottle. "Drink it." He did; it burned down his throat and left a gross after taste. 

"That was terrible." He managed. Lomya laughed at his face. 

"Clears your head, though." She refilled the glass.

"I'm still worried."

"Don't be! The doctor in there is my wife; she knows what she's doing."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrows. "Well, my apologies. I wasn't aware that you two were married." He knocked back the second glass, and she barked out a laugh at his face again. It was even worse the second time; the taste was stronger, and this time he knew it was his own fault because he knew what to expect. 

"But your friend will be fine. Trust me." Lomya refilled the glass again, but this time she took it for herself. 

"Not pleasant, is it?" Obi-wan mused, grinning slightly at her puckered expression. She glanced past him, though, and smiled. He followed her line of sight and his grin widened. 

"Hello again, Rharo Prastee." 

 


	29. The Master's Revelation

 

" _Hachil._ " Rharo Prastee greeted dryly. He had more gray hair than black now, and he had significantly more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. "I'd say it's good to see you, but...You're here for my soul, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not." Obi-wan laughed. "I'm here for the opposite, in fact. To help take this planet back from the Separatists." Prastee snorted and moved further into the kitchen. 

"By drinking?" He asked skeptically. 

"It was her idea." Obi-wan pointed at Lomya, who didn't even bother faking innocence. "I thought she was getting me something for these burns." 

"Which she should've." Prastee grave his wings a disapproving frown. "Those don't look so good." 

"No?" Obi-wan turned slightly and examined one of his wings. "I suppose, but they'll be fine in a day or two, I think." 

"You think? Has this happened before?" Lomya asked, pouring herself another glass. 

"Yes. I used to burn them all the time when I was working on mechanics. They heal pretty quickly." 

"Still, I think you should put something on them." Prastee made himself a glass of the strong alcohol. Just then, there was a commotion at the front of the house, and Obi-wan could sense Bant rush in. He stood up and tried to make his way over to the front room that Ahsoka was in, but Lomya kept him from leaving the room. 

"Don't." She ordered. "You'll just get in their way."

"I won't. I just want to make sure that everything is going alright."

"Sit down,  _hachil_." She pushed against his chest. "You'll get in someone's way and you know it. " He  _did_ know it, but no matter how much alcohol Lomya put into his system he was still worried about Ahsoka. Not for her life, of course; if that had been the case, he would have gone and meditated to prepare himself for the possibility of her becoming one with the Force. In this instance, he was worried for her mind. He fervently hoped that she didn't come out with a fear of piloting like he had. Or a fear of anything, really. Whether it was the _Will Of The Force_ or not, he didn't have to like it. 

" _Hachil!_ " Someone called from the hallway. Obi-wan perked up and slid past Lomya. The doctor, her wife, was waiting for him out in the hallway, just outside a closed door. 

"Yes? Is everything alright?" He asked. 

"Of course, especially with that healer of yours helping out." The woman lifted up her chin and gave him an appraising look. "Now it's your turn." 

"My turn?" He questioned, but before he could go anywhere she opened the door and pulled him in. She must've had experience with unwilling patients before, because her grip was tight and unyielding.

"My name is Sheva. You've already met my wife. Now, before I do anything, I'll have to cut off your tunics." 

"Excuse me?" Obi-wan frowned and raised his eyebrows. 

"Well, I don't want to agitate the feathers and any burns you might have gotten on your back. The only way to do that is to cut them off." She pulled out a large pair of scissors. "Don't worry, I have some extra clothes you can borrow." 

Obi-wan sighed loudly but didn't protest as she came at him with her scissors. First, she had him take off his belts and anything that didn't involve too much moving his back. Then she gripped the edges of his tunics and began cutting. The fabric fell to the floor within seconds. 

"Last time I was here, I somehow ended up shirtless in front of Lomya too. This is becoming a habit." He commented dryly. Sheva snorted.

"It's too bad your efforts are wasted."

"Efforts?" He repeated incredulously as she grabbed some sort of ointment. "You think I'm trying to find excuses to have my clothes taken off?"

"Oh, isn't that always the case with you men?"  Sheva asked condescendingly from behind him. 

"I, well...I suppose you're not really wrong. The only problems I've ever had in a sexual manner were from men." He fought back memories from the last time he had been on Senda IV. Sheva just laughed. 

"I can see why Lomya likes you." Suddenly, she spread the cold ointment on his shoulder. "You don't have any burns on your back, but you do have some on your shoulders and arms. They aren't too serious, so I won't bother your healer friend for any Bacta, but I'll put this on to help. As for your wings..." She walked around to his front, still spreading the ointment. "They don't look  _too_ bad, now that I'm up close, but they aren't in top condition either."

"They used to get burned like this all the time. It heals in a day or two." 

"Well..." She paused and frowned at him. "If you're sure. I'm going against every doctor instinct I have by letting this go, and I'm only doing this because I've never treated anyone with wings before." Obi-wan held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. 

"I shall do my very best not to injure myself further." 

"Good." She snorted. 

 

* * *

 

 

Obi-wan fell into an easy, dreamless, visionless sleep than night. He had contacted Anakin to tell him of Ahsoka's status, and Anakin had told him that the rest of the droids had been taken care of and that Bruck Chun was no where to be found. Then Sheva had given him a replacement set of tunics and one of the spare rooms to sleep in. She had made him promise to keep his wings out for as long as they had burns on them, because still no one knew what happened to them when they weren't out. 

He woke up to gentile knocking on his door. He opened his eyes and struggled up into a sitting position before he remembered all the events that had happened within the past couple of days. His lightsaber was in his hands a few seconds later, an action based purely on instinct, but he forced himself to put it back down. He could sense Ahsoka on the other side of the door, a glowing light that was currently projecting a jumbled mix of conflicting emotions and half formed thoughts. Obi-wan mentally sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Judging from her Force presence, she already  _knew,_ and was just coming to confront him.  _Let's just get this over with._

"Come in, Ahsoka." He called, halfheartedly running a hand through his hair and straightening his clothes. The old-fashioned door swung open, and Ahsoka, looking a little worse for wear but relatively healthy, stepped in. Her eyes immediately landed on his wings; they shifted minutely under the sudden scrutiny. 

"Force." She breathed, walking around so she was standing in front of him. "They weren't lying. You really are a...a..." She looked at his face, as if for the first time. 

"A  _hachil_ , as the Lemurians call it?" Obi-wan asked with a hint of amusement. "No, I'm not. But I'm also not completely human, either. I've had wings my whole life, but it wasn't until I was seventeen and I came here did I realize that I could hide them." Ahsoka was silent for another minute, back to staring at his wings. 

"Your Force signature is different." She suddenly noted. Obi-wan raised his eyebrows. 

"Really? How so?" He had realized this years ago, of course; nearly right after his wings had disappeared for the first time. But learning how to explain Force signatures, and how they may have changed, was a good exercise Obi-wan wouldn't pass up teaching. 

"I don't know if there's really a good word for it, but it seems...More open." It came out as more of a question, and Ahsoka's frown deepened. "That's the best word I can think of. It's not something I noticed before, but I do now that...They're out. But anyway, that's not important. What is important is why you hid them in the first place!" 

"Well, it's a long story." He shifted and glanced away. Ahsoka stood still and attentive as he told her the shortened and edited version of the story, and when he finished she frowned at him. 

"The Jedi council can't do that." She argued. "They can't make you hide part of your genetic heritage." She probably would have gone on to quote the exact rule in the codebook, but Obi-wan interrupted. 

"They can if it would otherwise compromise my safety and the safety of those around me. Besides, I agreed to it." 

"But why?" Ahsoka asked, exasperated. "Why would you want to hide a pair of wings? If it was me I would be out flying all the time." 

"Because," It took all his training as a negotiator to keep his voice even and not betray any of the sharp emotions he was feeling. "On my first mission to Senda IV, I nearly couldn't compete it because of my wings. Can you imagine the effects that would have today? If I couldn't complete a mission? It would be disastrous. As a padawan, I agreed to keep them hidden because I was afraid that I would be attacked even more on missions, and it would affect my knightship. As a knight, I continued to keep them hidden because I was suddenly in charge of a young padawan, who's life I could not risk more than I had to. As a master, keeping them hidden was so ingrained into my daily life that I could no longer imagine doing anything else. Then, of course, this war started, and the risks increased tenfold." 

Ahsoka was silent. She gave him a long, measured look that meant that she still wasn't sure what to think, but had accepted his explanation. The teacher part of his brain, the part that never really turned off, told him that he would have to mention to her or Anakin that she needed more practice in concealing her emotions. Shielding with the Force was good and all, but completely useless when even a non-Force sensitive could read your expression. 

"Okay." She finally said after a long pause. "Fair enough, I suppose. Later, of course, after this whole mission is done with, I want the whole story." Obi-wan smiled faintly and nodded. "But the question I have now is...Well,  _one_ of the many questions I have is do they work?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Define 'work'." He said, and she groaned. 

"Oh, come on, Master Obi-wan. You know what I mean!" 

"Being specific is a trait that requires constant practice in every situation, padawan." He chided with a hint of his, as Anakin put it, Lecture Voice. He let the matter drop, however, and continued. "Yes, of course they work. They grew as I did, so they didn't always, but I managed to master flying with them when I was eighteen."

"Wow." Her gaze went back to his wings. "And does this have anything to do with why you don't like flying?" She asked slowly, as if she was afraid he would reprimand her for being out of line and asking something too personal. He supposed that if they had been talking about anything else, he would have, or if they had a grand-master-grand-padawan relationship more similar to his and Dooku's, he would have at least mentioned it. But as it was, he let it go. 

"Well, something like that." Briefly, he told her a shortened version of his catastrophic crash, and her eyes widened. "Ever since then, I've had a hard time trusting myself to pilot or trusting whatever it is I need to pilot. I could never trust something made by someone else as much as I could trust myself." Ahsoka nodded in understanding, and Obi-wan was about to go on when he felt something dark shift in the Force, and slight chill sneak under his skin. Wordlessly, he made eye contact with Ahsoka, and he could tell from her expression that she had felt it too. 

Bruck Chun was back. 

 

 


	30. The Initiate's Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screeches in apology*

 

"Ahsoka, contact Anakin. Tell him to get over here, and bring Master Jinn. I'll contact Kight Muln and Kight Reeft." Obi-wan ordered, and Ahsoka nodded and dashed out the door. Obi-wan grabbed his comm and punched in the first number he remembered. The cold feeling under his skin intensified, and he could barely hold back a shudder. 

"Garen!" He said into his comm. 

"What? What is it?" His friend responded immediately, probably hearing the alarm in Obi-wan's voice. 

"It's Bruck, I felt him. He's back." 

"Where are you?"

"In Lemuria. I don't know where he is exactly, but he's getting closer." 

"I'm on my way." There was some shuffling and static on the other end. "Hold your position."

"Bring Reeft with you." 

"I can't, Bant hasn't cleared him for field missions yet, let alone being on the front line." 

Obi-wan groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. As a master and council member, he had the authority to override a lot of decisions made by other Jedi, including other masters. However, the only Jedi exempt from this rule were healers. "Why?"

"She says that as far as she can tell, he's physically fine. But she doesn't know if there are going to be any mental repercussions that could cause injury to himself or others." Garen spoke in one breath. "She want's to take him and Master Jinn back to Coruscant as soon as possible to run some more tests." 

"Does this mean that Qui-gon isn't cleared either?" Obi-wan asked, pulling on his boots. He heard Garen sigh. 

"She hasn't said anything officially, but I'm assuming yes." 

"Fine, fine, don't bring Reeft. As long as nothing's official, we still have Qui-gon. Just hurry up." 

"On it." Garen signed off, and Obi-wan switched frequencies. 

"Bant, we-"

"I am not sending a man who just came back from the dead out to fight a Sith, Obi-wan Kenobi." She interrupted sharply. He didn't bother wondering how she knew what he was going to ask. 

"I understand that, but if something happens to the rest of us, he may be our only line of offense."

"What about the clones?" 

"The clones can take back a planet, but they don't have the skills to take on a Sith Lord." Obi-wan said, exiting his room. Ahsoka was waiting down the hall, both her lightsabers in hand, and a steely expression on her face. When she saw him, she nodded and darted down the stairs.

"And you think that Reeft will be able to fight and defeat a Sith that would have just killed two of the most renowned duelists the Jedi have?" Bant demanded. 

"Maybe!" Obi-wan exclaimed, following after Ahsoka. "Maybe not. Listen. If we start losing, I want to know we have back-up. Maybe Reeft can't fight Bruck one-on-one, but we'll have a better chance the more people we have on our side."  

"Fine." Bant growled after a moment. "But only if you think he'll have a serious affect on the fight. If Bruck manages to hurt or kill one of you, I am calling a retreat." 

"Fair enough." 

"May the Force be with you, old friend." She said suddenly, her voice quieter and ernest.

"And you as well." He replied, ignoring the twisting in his gut. 

 

* * *

 

According to Ahsoka, Garen, Anakin, and Qui-gon were on their way, along with a few dozen clone troopers. Judging from where they were when Ahsoka contacted them and how long it took to get to Lemuria, they wouldn't make it in time. Droids were already swarming the city, and the cold darkness that had cast a shadow over Obi-wan's mind told him that Bruck was with them. He told Ahsoka to help the citizens that were armed fight off the droids, and to make sure that the ones who weren't armed stayed indoors. Then, he sank into meditation. 

It was a type of meditation that had been developed thousands of years before, that allowed Jedi to reach the Force more easily during battle. Meditation in general gave Jedi a way to become closer with the Force, but this type of meditation was different in that one didn't sink completely into the Force. Yoda, who had taught it to him, had compared it to an ocean, where the Force is the water (there's a reason that ' _sinking_ into meditation' is a common phrase). With regular meditation, a Jedi stood in the water with only their head not submerged; the better they got at meditating, the more in tuned with the Force, the higher the water was. While not meditating, a Jedi had their feet in the water, but that was it. They were always attuned to the Force and its currents, but their main focus was elsewhere. However, with battle meditation, a Jedi was submerged about up to their waist (or the species equivalent to half their body). They were more in tuned than they normally were, but they could still keep their focus in the moment. It required the Jedi to be capable in meditation and in combat, so it was something that was generally only taught to masters. 

Once he was satisfied, Obi-wan closed his eyes and began walking. He could feel the emotions of the locals ( _fear, anger, protectiveness, loyalty_ ) all swirling in chaos, but he pushed past them and searched for the darkness. It was hard, since all the emotions being projected into the Force were _really_ chaotic, but eventually he found it. It was part of the chaos, but somehow separated. Like a Mon Cala Lightfish in a storm. Obi-wan followed it, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself back in the town center, with the statue. He paused. 

Bruck Chun was pacing around the base of the statue, black cloak billowing out behind him as he did. His lightsaber was already out and lit, and the hand holding it kept twitching in aborted half-movements that could almost be the beginnings of an offensive strike. In the Force, he was radiating the usual for a Sith ( _rage, bitterness, irritation_ ) but there was something else ( _uncertainty, fear_ ) that Obi-wan wasn't used to. Obviously, whoever Bruck answered to hadn't been happy that he had essentially struck a deal with Obi-wan, and had given Bruck orders to kill him. But Bruck was conflicted; maybe he was trained under a Sith, maybe he was on his way to becoming a Sith, maybe he already was, but he still wasn't completely Dark. 

Obi-wan walked forward, and Bruck whirled on him. 

"Kenobi." He snarled, pointing his lightsaber at him. 

"Bruck." Obi-wan greeted in a neutral voice. "We have to stop meeting like this." Bruck ignored his comment and kept pacing, never taking his eyes off Obi-wan. 

"My master wants your head." 

"I'm not surprised." Obi-wan shrugged. "There are plenty of people who want my head, but I'm rather flattered." 

"This is no game, Kenobi!" Bruck shouted. "I'm here to kill you!" 

"And if you don't?" 

"'Do or do not, there is no try'." Bruck sneered. "That's a Jedi teaching, isn't it?" 

"Of course it is, and you should know it, since you are a Jedi." It was happening again; he was verbally prophesizing. "Maybe misguided, angry, lost, but a Jedi no less." 

"I am no Jedi! The Jedi disowned me and threw me out!" 

"A systematic mistake. There were too many Initiates and not enough masters willing to take on padawans. It never should have happened. But Bruck, it isn't about you. Many Initiates knew that they would never become Jedi, and they left sooner than us. You and I were just too stubborn. We would have both been sent to the AgriCourps; Master Qui-gon was just chance. This is about the bigger picture, and all the Initiates who felt rejected, and why the number of Jedi has been dwindling for years. That's what being a Jedi is all about; something bigger than yourself."

Bruck yelled wordlessly and lunged forward. They exchanged a few blows, but Obi-wan was still in his battle meditation. His 'saber skills were at their peak, his senses were all at their max, and he was so in tuned with the Force that he could clearly see all of Bruck's moves before he made them. Soon, Obi-wan had him at a standstill. 

"Do you think I don't know that?" Bruck growled. "I knew what being a Jedi was about, and I _wanted_ it. But no one picked me! I joined the Dark Side to retaliate for me, _and_ all the Initiates who left because they knew they would never be chosen." 

" _That_ is not what being a Jedi is about. It's not about vengeance. It's about doing the right thing, it's about helping people."

"I already told you!" Bruck untangled his lightsaber from Obi-wan's and stepped away. "I am no Jedi!"

"And yet." Obi-wan spread his hands. "Here I stand, claiming the opposite. I'm offering you a second chance. I can't say you will be inducted back into the Order, and I can't offer you complete political absolution, but as a Jedi Master, I can offer you wartime immunity, and I can bring you back to the Temple for protection."

"What if I don't want to be a Jedi? What if I don't want anything to do with you?" 

"If you didn't want anything to do with us, you wouldn't still be seeking revenge. You also wouldn't be standing there, talking to me. You would be trying to kill me, just like old times. But, Bruck, you have to see how much bigger this is than just the two of us, and how fighting against the Order as a whole, with the Sith, won't do any good. The Sith want to destroy the Jedi and the Republic;  _to them, you are nothing but a pawn that they manipulate to do their bidding_." The last part.... That had been more prophecy than anything else he had said. It rang true in the Force, so much so that Bruck probably felt it. He must have, because he powered off his lightsaber and shifted in uncertainty. 

"Pawn... I may be." Bruck admitted slowly. "But if I don't do this, then they will kill me." 

"Then come with me, back to Coruscant. The Sith can't reach you there." 

"Don't you get it? Yes they can!" Bruck threw his arms out wide. "The Separatists have spies everywhere. The Sith are even members of the Senate!" 

Well. That was... Troubling. 

"In order for no one to be able to reach you, through the Force, you'll have to be given something that makes your presence unnoticeable. But once you are inside the Temple, you will be safe." 

Bruck stared at him for a while, an obvious battle going on inside his head. 

"You will be safe." Obi-wan repeated. "Then we can work on changing those flaws in the Order." 

"You want to change the Order?" Bruck scoffed. "In the middle of a war?" 

"Yes!" Obi-wan laughed. If he had been anyone else, he would have been surprised at his own audacity. "What better time? So many Jedi are tired of this war, if not all of them. We've been exposed to and experienced things that we haven't been exposed to or experienced in millennia. I'd say that this is the best chance for change that we'll get." 

Bruck turned and started pacing again. His agitation and uncertainty were crystal clear in the Force and in his body language. There wasn't much more Obi-wan could say; it was all up to Bruck now to make a decision. 

 _Obi-wan!_ Anakin shouted, which he heard even through his shields.  _We're here! We're almost to the town center-_

 _Anakin, don't._ Obi-wan warned. Bruck was right on the edge, but Anakin and Ahsoka would see his lightsaber and feel his Dark presence and label him as an enemy. To be fair, they wouldn't be completely without reason, but there was a reason Obi-wan worked as the Negotiator best when he was alone. He could already feel Anakin and Ahsoka and Qui-gon and Garen in the Force; they were close, only a few streets over. 

_What? Obi-wan you need back-up._

_Anakin-_

_We're coming over-_

_Knight Skywalker, I am ORDERING you to stay exactly where you are!_ Obi-wan snapped. He used his Jedi rank, knight, instead of general, to hopefully convey to Anakin the importance of what he was doing, and to pull as much rank as he could. Anakin was a Jedi General, but Obi-wan was a Jedi High General, so in terms of the GAR, Obi-wan was one rank above Anakin. But in terms of the Jedi, Anakin was a knight, and Obi-wan was a master and council member, so he was two ranks above Anakin. He didn't like pulling rank, especially on his friend, but in the moment, he didn't see any other option.  

Obi-wan also didn't order Anakin around, as a general rule, apprenticeship aside. Anakin was known for having some... Wild plans, but so was Obi-wan, and Anakin's plans usually worked out. Besides, the man was much less impatient and impulsive than he had been as a padawan, and he usually didn't need to be given direct orders from Obi-wan. But this was important, so important that it might help end the war, and he couldn't have Anakin rushing in and going on the offensive. 

_Oh._

Obi-wan felt Anakin freeze, and mild hurt throbbed along the bond. 

 _I'm sorry._ Obi-wan immediately sent.  _But, lets just say I'm in some seriously sensitive negotiations right now, and the four of you would have pulled out your lightsabers and attacked immediately._

_Who could you possibly be negotiating with?_

_Well, for now, lets keep it_ _anonymous-_

_You're negotiating with a kriffing Sith Lord?_

_No._ Obi-wan huffed mentally, then ruefully added:  _He's an apprentice._ Leave it to Anakin to be observant when it was least helpful. 

_Kriff!_

_Just be patient. I'm the Negotiator, remember?_

Anakin didn't bother responding, simply sending the mental version of an eye roll, and Obi-wan put his shields back up just in time for Bruck to finally look back at him. 

"Alright, Kenobi, lets say I go with you. What happens?" 

"I'll take you to my ship,  _The Negotiatior_. There, you'll be given something that makes your Force presence unidentifiable from any other sentient, and as soon as the rest of the Separatist forces are removed from Sendia IV, I and the 212th Attack Battalion will escort you back to Coruscant. What happens after that is mostly up to how the council reacts. Don't misunderstand me, this won't be easy. Many Jedi are willing to change, yes, but the council will remain stubborn as always."

"How will the senate be involved?"

"Not at all, I can ensure it. We will travel to Coruscant for a different official reason; protocol requires that all Jedi who have dealt with a Sith in combat see a Jedi Mind Healer, who are mainly stationed at the Temple. The senate won't involve themselves in that." 

Bruck stared at him for a long minute. Obi-wan couldn't read his emotions in the Force, they were too sporadic and chaotic, and he couldn't read his expression either. Finally, Bruck lifted up his hand, and let go. Bruck Chun's lightsaber fell the the ground, with a soft thud and the feeling of the Force rejoicing. (Somewhere else in the universe, Mace Windu was sent reeling from the sudden disappearance of old shatterpoints and the appearance of new ones.)

Of course, it was that moment all hell broke lose. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... So. I can't say I've been super busy. I have been at certain points, but not for over a year straight. I know what it's like to wait for a fic you really like to take forever to update. Sorry?


	31. The Rage of the Negotiator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me my last update wasn't in August. There's no way it was that long ago, was it???

 

"Sniper!" Obi-wan yelled, trowing himself to the side, a second before blaster bolts started flying. He ended up taking cover on the side of a building; he lost track of Bruck in the madness for a moment. The he spotted Bruck across from him, collapsed next to the statue. Obi-wan couldn't see that clearly through the dust, but he didn't need to. He could sense that Bruck had been hit, but it wasn't a fatal wound. The dropped lightsaber was still where it used to be, and Obi-wan felt his gut clench in grim determination. Judging from the angle and direction of the blaster bolts, the snipers were situated along the square on top of the buildings, which meant that the only reason they had stopped was because they thought Bruck was dead and they couldn't see Obi-wan. He reached out with the Force, and felt seven distinct life forms, all where the snipers would be, only they were starting to move. He ducked into a doorway to his right, his wings pressed close to his body, and kept his senses alert to feel where the snipers were moving to. They were all converging on Bruck. 

It was then that Obi-wan realized that the pain in his head wasn't just from his ears ringing, but Anakin and Qui-gon hammering on his shields. Ahsoka was sending a steady stream of concern over the fledgling training bond they both shared; it wasn't strong enough to convey anything more than emotions. Obi-wan barely refrained himself from rolling his eyes, and decided Qui-gon was less likely to bombard him. 

 _Please tell Anakin that I'm fine, and ask him to please calm down._ He sent once he lowered his shields, before Qui-gon could get a word in. 

 _Are you alright? We sensed something happen._ Qui-gon said a moment after Anakin backed off and Ahsoka's concern diminished. 

_Oh, I'm fine. Just a couple snipers._

_'Just'?_ Qui-gon repeated, incredulously. 

_Well, they missed._

_At least your sense of humor hasn't changed._

Obi-wan smirked and raised his shields back up. 

In the square, the snipers were gathering around Bruck's body. No doubt they were smart enough to realize that he was still alive, but they didn't finish the job. Obi-wan had never seen a sniper be satisfied with a half finished job, so that meant they were probably told to keep him alive. They milled about for a few minutes, before Obi-wan heard the unmistakable sound of a ship approaching. 

He groaned inwardly. 

Another ship like the one Bruck had arrived in appeared about the snipers, and lowered down just enough to allow the snipers to carry Bruck on board. Obi-wan watched it lift up again and take off, then jumped into action. He scaled the side of the building, then summoned Bruck's lightsaber with the Force and began running along the rooftops. He felt an eerie sense of deja vu, from his last mission to Senda IV. This time, however, when he reached the edge of a building and jumped, he flared open his wings and flew. He felt a sense of giddy joy in the pit of his stomach at flying (without a body in his arms) for the first time in  _so long_ , but he ignored it. He flapped his wings hard, and flew up to settle just above the ship's jet stream. It was the one weak spot every ship had. They had sensors for the rear, where no one could usually see, but those sensors were a combination of heat and movement sensors. They could pick up his movement, but they couldn't differentiate his heat from the jet stream, so therefore they couldn't identify him, so therefore they couldn't report him. 

He was flying right into a trap, that much was obvious. If the snipers were skilled enough to aim to injure Bruck without killing him, then they could have managed to hit Obi-wan. They knew that Obi-wan would follow. 

He barely remembered to let someone know where he was going. 

 _Anakin._ Obi-wan prodded, and Anakin immediately responded. 

_There you are! Did you see that ship?_

_Yes. I'm following it now._

_Do you know where it's going?_

_It looks_ _like it's going to the cliffs... Ah, no, it's going to the cave you found me in._ Obi-wan sighed, and was forced to hover for a couple minutes while the ship landed at the bottom of the cliff, and the passengers disembarked. 

 _Alright. Ahsoka and I will meet you there, along with Master Qui-gon and Knight Garen._ He added the last part almost as an after thought.  _Are you alright?_

_Yes, Anakin, I'm fine. I told Qui-gon to tell you._

_He did, but sometimes your version of 'fine' includes broken bones and punctured lungs._

Obi-wan huffed mentally. 

_How are you? And everyone else?_

_Oh, I'm fine. Everyone else is too. Ahsoka is a little worse for wear, but otherwise good._

_Good. ETA?_

_Give us ten minutes, max._

With that, they both raised their respective shields, and Obi-wan dove down. 

 

* * *

 

The way into the cave looked just as it had before, but Obi-wan kept his lightsaber in his hand, and moved slowly. He could feel Darkness; a cold rage, coiled up like a serpent ready to strike.  _Dooku_. He would know that presence anywhere. The count was likely going to try to kill two birds with one stone; Obi-wan and Bruck. Maybe he would manipulate them into fighting each other, or perhaps he would kill Bruck in front of Obi-wan, as a form of torture, or he might even break out true, physical torture.  _That doesn't seem quite his style. Dooku wouldn't want to get his hands dirty._ He also wasn't an idiot; he would know that Anakin wouldn't be too far behind Obi-wan, so any killing should be done quickly to give him enough time to escape. 

 _Focus._ Obi-wan chastised himself. While he walked, he pulled his wings back into himself. They were big and bulky, and would hinder him in the small tunnel than they would help. 

He finally made it to the pool. The snipers were no where to be seen, but Obi-wan could feel them in the Force. They were hiding in the shadows on the edges of the cave. Bruck was crumbled on the ground, off to the side of Dooku, who was standing in front of the water. He turned around, and Obi-wan noted the unlit 'saber in his hand. 

"Hello, Master Kenobi." Dooku created cooly, his eyes piercing, even from a distance. 

"Count Dooku. Always a pleasure." Obi-wan lifted his chin up. "I must say, you've chosen  _quite_ the location for our meetings this time. I love how you've decorated." 

"Insufferable as always, Kenobi." Dooku practically growled. 

"It runs in my Lineage." 

Lineages weren't that important to most Jedi; simply a curiosity or fun fact. If anything, they were treated like a Jedi's version of a family line. Obi-wan remembered Ahsoka's face lighting up with interest when he mentioned that Yoda was his great-grandmaster, and therefore she was in Yoda's direct Lineage. Some, however, treated their Lineage like a royal family would their bloodline. They only took on padawans that they considered the best in some area, or all areas, and they made sure that their former apprentices took on padawans that met their standards. Dooku had been one of those Jedi; Obi-wan had assumed that Dooku had never liked him because he didn't fit his idea of a perfect Lineage. 

Dooku sneered at him, and Obi-wan stopped a few yards away from him and Bruck. 

"Do you know what else runs in your Lineage?"

"No, what?" 

"Anger." 

Obi-wan felt his blood go cold, but he tried to shake it off. He had been known for... Occasional bouts of anger in his youth, as were Anakin and Ahsoka. He couldn't speak for Qui-gon or Yoda, as he hadn't known them in their youths, but he could only imagine. Well, he couldn't really. Imagining Master Yoda as angry or young was just about impossible. 

"Perhaps." Obi-wan admitted. 

"I started watching you when Qui-gon took you as a padawan. You've always been of a particular interest to me. I saw in you the same righteous anger and need for justice that I recognized in myself. When I left the Jedi Order, I thought I could convince you to join me. But you held fast to the Order, and their precious Code. Surely, now, you realize that the Code is failing." Dooku's voice was cold and persuasive, and Obi-wan could practically feel it pressing against his shields. 

"I recognize that the Code needs to be changed." Obi-wan admitted. "But that cannot be done from outside the Order." Suddenly, he felt Anakin's presence, at the mouth of the cave. He was with Garen, Ahsoka, and Qui-gon. 

"Oh, there is no saving the Order." Dooku must have sensed them too, because he ignited his lightsaber and started walking forwards. Obi-wan ignited his lightsaber too, but he backed up a few steps. He would wait for Anakin, Qui-gon, and Garen before he attacked. They would have to spare Ahsoka to take care of the snipers. "The Jedi will fall, and the Sith will rise in their place." 

"I wouldn't be too sure." 

"I would." Something changed in Dooku's tone, and Obi-wan definitely felt something press against his shields. "The Jedi are so obsessed with feeling no emotion, and yet one of their very best has given into their strongest emotions. Haven't you, Master Kenobi?"  Obi-wan scowled at Dooku. "I know how you felt. All those times your master abandoned you, made you feel inadequate even though you knew your worth." 

The thing pressing against his shields pressed harder. Obi-wan maintained his shields, but he was too distracted. Memories flashed before his eyes. Melinda/Daan, Bandomeer, being brushed aside in front of the council, and all the times in between when Qui-gon looked at him and found him falling short in some way, despite the fact that Obi-wan was continuously the top of his class in astrophysics and cultural studies, spoke six languages by age fifteen, was spoken highly of by all the masters who taught his classes, was a force not to be reckoned with in the training salle… 

 _There._  

Obi-wan wanted to scream in pain as his shields were broken down and something slithered into his mind. He felt himself fall to his knees, but then all his senses left him. He was no longer in control of his own body, or his emotions. His rage flared, burning in the Force; he didn’t think he had ever been this angry. It almost made him want to laugh. He recognized Dooku’s trick; he was using Obi-wan’s anger and pride against him by reminding him of all the ways Qui-gon had hurt him, but magnifying the emotions tenfold. It was textbook Sith, literally. It was one of the few Sith tactics that the Jedi still had knowledge of. 

Obi-wan hadn’t thought he had any anger left; he certainly never thought he was an overly proud man. All Qui-gon’s slights against him had happened so long ago, he had thought he was over them, yet rage was coursing through his veins…

He was literally being blinded by anger. He could no longer see, hear, or feel anything. Obi-wan tried to clamp down on it and take back control, but it was too strong. His thoughts were fuzzy and unclear, and his blood was boiling. 

 _It's not my anger, Dooku is just inside my head. I have to get him out._ Obi-wan tried to tell himself, but there wasn't much of his consciousness left that wasn't overrun by anger or pain. Whatever Dooku was doing to him hurt, and he couldn't release the pain into the Force as well as he usually did. Obi-wan gave up that endeavor, and tried to simply ignore the pain while he searched his mind for Dooku. 

When padawans are taught how to build shields, they are told to imagine them as a place (which usually ended up being something from the homeworld of the padawan) protecting another place. Anakin's shields were the never-ending sand dunes of Tatooine. Ashoka's shields were the valley forests of Shili. Likewise, Obi-wan's shields were the wild jungles of Stewjon. He had chosen them because they looked calm on the outside, but most who wandered in never came back out. (He had been quite taken by the mysticism of the jungles in his youth). Somehow, Dooku had fond a way through the jungle; a way past his shields. 

The place the jungles protected was the Jedi Temple, the one place he knew as well as he knew himself. Each place or area in the temple represented a certain aspect of himself, that usually corresponded with the area. He searched through each one: the entrance hall (his focus on the present), the training salle (his Jedi training), the cafeteria (his relationships with his friends and fellow Jedi), his quarters (his apprenticeship under Qui-gon), the council room (his duties and knowledge as a council member), and so on. He couldn't find Dooku anywhere. He could find traces of his grandmaster, but it was only evidence that Dooku had been in his mind. He was about to do another sweep, but something told him he didn't have that much time. 

 _Alright_. He thought.  _So if Dooku isn't in my mind, then it isn't Dooku controlling this anger. Then... Then it isn't Dooku's anger, it's mine._

Obi-wan  _had_ thought that he wasn't angry anymore. He genuinely thought he had released all his hurt feelings into the Force. But when he followed Dooku's trail, he found himself in the sub-sub-basement of the temple, where no Jedi went anymore. It was all old pipelines and empty gas tanks, and anger. All of Obi-wan's left over anger had found itself at the very bottom levels of the temple, where Obi-wan never set foot. 

For a second, his pain flared, and his rage doubled. Finding the source of Dooku's manipulations had just made them worse. 

_It's my anger. Dooku has just brought it to the surface and increased the intensity._

Obi-wan knew what he had to do. He calmed himself down, as much as he could, and began cleaning up. He sorted through his anger, acknowledged it, and let it go into the Force. He didn't examine anything to see how valid his feelings were; valid or not, he let it go. Slowly but surely, as he released his anger, the pain faded, and he became more aware of himself. He was moving, he was moving  _fast_ ; he was  _fighting_. As soon as he could, he stopped himself. 

Suddenly, he was forced to a halt. There was something in his way; a collapsed tunnel. His muscles strained against his control, trying to lash out again and act out on his anger, but he held fast and examined the tunnel. 

It wasn't anger at Qui-gon, he found, but it was at Maul, over Qui-gon's death. He had gotten so used to it, that he hadn't even considered it to be abnormal. 

 _Time to let go._ He told himself. Was he upset that Maul killed his master? Yes. Was he angry with Maul? Yes. It had been hard, dealing with the loss of his master and suddenly teaching a padawan. It had been so hard, but he had done it. But if it was the will of the Force for Qui-gon to fall during that fight on Naboo, then he could let it go. He _could_. It was a little more difficult than he was used to, but he did it. 

The tunnel rightened itself, and his senses came back to him in full. 

 


End file.
